National study finds W.Va. preschool teachers are the most educated Research finds that: effective classrooms have educators with bachelor's or master's degrees

By NOREEN GILLESPIE THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

HARTFORD, Conn. - Researchers have found that preschool teachersin West Virginia were the most educated, with 66 percent holding amaster's degree. The least educated were teachers were in Alaska,where 78 percent had no more education than a high school diploma.

A national study released Tuesday also found that many of theteachers in the nation's state-funded preschool classrooms havelimited education and are paid poorly.

Twenty-seven percent of preschool teachers lack a bachelor'sdegree, and 14 percent report an annual salary below the povertyline, according to the study by Walter Gilliam, the director of theEdward …