The banquet is held to honor area businesses, social groups and individuals for their commitment to the Be Their Hero cause. A local committee was formed several years ago as a way to get more people thinking about increasing early childhood education . . . "We have a crisis here," [former teacher and school administrator Dr. Bob Sornson] said. "We have a lot of work to do if we ever want to change society."

About 60,000 children enroll in public school kindergartens every year in Minnesota. State officials say 10 to 12 percent of them do so without being adequately prepared . . . The Minneapolis School District plans to spend $2.2 million of stimulus funds it will receive through the state to boost early childhood education. The tangible results in Minneapolis will be that 220 more children from low-income homes will be able to attend all-day preschool.

Here's some good news for pre-k even in difficult economic times: This month the state legislature in Alaska, one of twelve states that does not have a state pre-k program, passed Gov. Sarah Palin's proposed $2 million pilot pre-k program. The program will distribute funds to school districts -- and in some cases, community-based organizations -- to provide voluntary, half-day pre-kindergarten for up to 500 Alaska 4-year-olds.

All of the interventions, policies, and standards in the world mean very little if we can't get all students up to a common level. We cannot guarantee all students equal pathways to success as long as we are posting significant gaps in student learning and achievement . . . [My kids] will get the formal early childhood education programs necessary to be fully prepared for the K-12 experience . . . but my two children are the exception, not the rule.

First Class meets the 10 standards that research shows have the greatest impact on quality . . . [T]he problem is that only 6 percent of Alabama's 4-year-olds have access to this great pre-K program. The program requires state funding and local matching funds. In these tough budget times, we are hoping to protect the progress that has been made. In three years, Alabama has nearly tripled the number of children served. However, of the 38 states that provide state-funded pre-K, Alabama ranks 36th for access.

"We're helping each other," [child care coordinator Sharlene Giamalva] said. "We feel really good about this." [[Daycare director Nita Shelden] and Giamalva said it's a unique opportunity for both organizations, and that Kansas Early Head Start usually partners with home day cares rather than community day cares . . . Kansas Early Head Start will pay Community Daycare for the current four spots and eventually six spots for its children, plus other costs on an as-needed basis.

Sag Harbor School Superintendent Dr. John Gratto said in the past few months, the two school districts have been analyzing ways to share and economize services by working together. Running a joint pre-k program was one such idea Dr. Gratto discussed with Bridgehampton School's superintendent Dr. Dianne Youngblood and principal Jack Pryor in the beginning of April.

After almost a dozen public meetings concerning 10 community center-based preschool and after-school programs slated to lose teacher funding, Mayor Thomas Menino has granted yet another concession. The five preschool programs under threat . . . will now be funded until at least the end of the next fiscal year, which ends July 2010 . . . The original plan was to shift the burden of funding the teacher's pay over to the respective site councils, which are independent non-profits.

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Pre-K Now, a campaign of the Pew Center on the States, collaborates with advocates and policymakers to lead a movement toward high-quality, voluntary pre-kindergarten for all three and four year olds.

Quote of the Day

"We don't always use this knowledge we have . . . What we do with our kids in the early years are the delineating forces in what happens in kids lives."

– Dr. Bob Sornson, former classroom teacher and school adminstrator, speaking at the Be Their Hero From Age Zero banquet

On the Inside Pre-K blog

Getting Ready for the DC-CAS!
It is not surprising to find that students who attend pre-k score better on standardized tests in fourth grade!
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