By Jim Cook
Read story at DothanEagle.com
Alabama may buck a trend in state funding for pre-kindergarten programs if the Alabama Legislature approves additional funding for its pre-K programs.
“I think it’s a real victory that they are considering increasing funding with the tight budgets they have,” said Allison de la Torre, executive director of the Alabama School Readiness Alliance. “It’s clear this is a priority.”
According to a recent report by the Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University, state funding for pre-K programs took a huge hit from ongoing economic troubles that have hurt education budgets nationwide. In the 2011-2012 school year, state funding for pre-k programs decreased by nearly $500 million.
Alabama has a small, but well-regarded pre-K program. The National Institute for Early Education Research has named the state’s pre-K program one of the country’s best for seven years.
The state currently spends about $19 million on pre-K programs, allowing about 3,900 four year olds – or six percent of eligible students – around the state to participate. Some four year olds also attend HeadStart pre-K programs funded by the federal government.
State pre-K advocates want to fully fund pre-K in 10 years, giving all eligible Alabama four-year-olds the opportunity to attend.
De la Torre said legislation that would increase pre-K funding is currently in the Senate. The Alabama House passed a bill that would add $12.5 million in funding for state funded pre-k classrooms. A Senate committee reduced that amount to $6.25 million, but de la Torre said the funding may be restored to the original amount when the legislation is debated on the Senate floor this week, or in a conference committee to reconcile differences between legislation passed in the two chambers.
Here in Dothan, Jerryneta Evans, principal of Dothan’s HeadStart program, has applied to add a pre-K classroom at Faine Elementary School. Evans said whether the grant is approved likely depends on the Legislature’s action.
Studies show that quality pre-K programs can have a big impact on students, preparing them for a successful start to their studies in the K-12 system.
According to a 2007 poll of Alabama public kindergarten teachers conducted by the Alabama State Department of Education and VOICES for Alabama’s Children, about 86 percent of kindergarten teachers said attending a high quality pre-k program is vital to children’s kindergarten performance.
Nikki Cochran, a pre-K teacher at one of the state-funded classrooms at the Dothan HeadStart school, said she feels quality pre-K can go a long way toward helping students acclimate to school life and succeed academically.
“We start the year with children who don’t recognize their own name when it’s written and by the end of the year they’re reading sight words and doing simple math problems,” she said.
