Danae Queen, 2, ran down the sun-streaked hallway ahead of her mother, made a beeline for Classroom 160 and pounded on the door with her small hands.
“She loves coming to school,” said her mother, Ashanit Collins, 24, as Danae burst into the classroom, scurried across the floor and climbed into the lap of her teacher, Damicka Bryan.
“Hi, Miss Damicka!” the little girl chirped.
Welcome to Educare, a state-of-the-art $16 million preschool that education officials consider a model for the nation. It is part of a national network of high-quality early education facilities aimed at low-income children and funded with private and public money.
Located in the Kenilworth-Parkside neighborhood in Northeast Washington, Educare is marking its first anniversary Wednesday with a visit from Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who are promoting the Obama administration’s proposal to dramatically expand early childhood education.