Washington state preschool program meets standards

OLYMPIA — Washington’s state-supported preschool program for low-income 3- and 4-year-olds meets most of the quality standards set by a national early learning group. Only two states met all 10 benchmarks set by the National Institute for Early Education Research — North Carolina and Alabama. Washington is one of nine states to meet nine of the 10 benchmarks. Washington’s preschool program does not meet the national organization’s requirement that lead teachers to have at least a bachelor’s degree. The state-supported early learning program requires an associates degree for lead teachers. More than 8,000 children around Washington are enrolled in the state-supported preschool program.