Pondering this a bit more. I'm still opposed to public funds going to private schools. What also needs to be done is getting more groups involved with early childhood education, preschool so to speak. There are too many children entering kindergarten and first grade who are not prepared, especially in the inner city. One of the problems is their parents have no clue on how to prepare their offspring.
There are some groups attempting to work with individual communities, but it's just a drop in the bucket. It's also a challenge to encourage parents to attend the sessions. IMO, it's little things like reading to your kids, encouraging them to explore. Simple things like reading the cereal box for example.
Those of us dreaded Boomers had things like Ding Dong School, Romper Room, Captain Kangaroo. We were already equipped with ABC's, and counting by the time we entered school. Our kids had things like Sesame Street, Electric Company, etc. but we're middle class. I have a feeling in the "projects" not so much.