Dear Supporter,

High-quality pre-k provides stability and emotional skills that help children in military families cope with frequent moves and parental deployments. But military children's eligibility for state-funded pre-k programs varies widely from state to state. Pre-K Now and the Military Child Education Coalition have partnered on a new report addressing this problem and proposing solutions. You can help today by sharing this report with others, especially military parents and officials, state and local policymakers, and school administrators.

When the Army relocated Master Sergeant Benjamin Smith and his family to Texas, he and his wife were disappointed to learn that their daughters, Benisha and Brianna, were not eligible for the state's pre-kindergarten program. The Smiths knew that high-quality pre-k could provide social and emotional skills and a stable environment to help their children cope with the frequent transitions and separations in military life.

Like any parents would, Sergeant Smith and his wife, Cathy, spoke up. Fortunately, Texas lawmakers were listening, and last year they changed the law to make all military children eligible for state-funded pre-k programs. Benisha just graduated from pre-k, and Brianna will start this fall.

What happened in Texas can happen elsewhere, and, with your help, it will.

Families in the Armed Forces must make many sacrifices, but their children's education shouldn't be one of them. Until military children have access to state-funded pre-k everywhere, their opportunities to attend pre-k may change with each family relocation, creating more stress and disruption in their young lives.

That's why Pre-K Now and the Military Child Education Coalition have written a report to educate policymakers about the need to offer high-quality, voluntary pre-k to all children of the Armed Forces. Click here to get a copy of "Pre-K for Military Families: Honoring Service, Educating Children."

Implementing our recommendations will take focused leadership and motivation at multiple levels, beginning with activists like you. Please share this report with military parents and officials, state and local policymakers, school administrators, and others.

Our goal is to have all states make children in military families eligible for state-funded pre-k programs. The Smiths spoke out and helped win a great victory in Texas. Thank you, in advance, for following their lead, talking to policymakers about pre-k's importance to military families, and joining this campaign.

Sincerely,
Libby Doggett, Ph.D.
Executive Director

P.S. As with other issues faced by military parents, this one is not widely recognized by our nation's citizens and leaders. But we can change that today by sharing the Smiths' story and this report. It's as simple as forwarding this message to 10 of your friends. To use our handy tell-a-friend tool, click here. Thanks, again!