Gov. Nathan Deal and a majority of the state’s lawmakers will shift their focus from the Capitol to the classroom this week to mark the 20th anniversary of Georgia’s landmark pre-kindergarten program.
Deal and nearly 150 lawmakers will be fanning out across the state to visit some of the state’s 3,900 pre-k classrooms and their 84,000 students.
Deal, who has said early childhood education is an administration priority, will be in Sandy Springs on Tuesday with first lady Sandra Deal, reading to public school pre-k students.
Georgia gained status as a leader in early childhood education with the creation of the nation’s first voluntary pre-k program open to any 4-year-old regardless of family income.
Proceeds from the sale of lottery tickets have funded the popular program, which has served 1.2 million children since its launch in 1992.
The state spends about $300 million annually on pre-k, though budget cuts in 2011 threatened the program’s vaunted reputation and caused many of its teachers to leave.
The $54 million cut was initiated by Deal to try to cement the long-term viability of both pre-k and the lottery-funded HOPE scholarship program.
Most of the savings was realized by cutting the pre-k school year from 180 to 160 days and increasing class sizes. Ten of those 20 calendar days were added back this year, and there’s a push to return to a 180-day pre-k year next year, though no decision has been made.
Stephanie Mayfield, a Deal spokeswoman, said the governor is looking for ways to increase pre-k funding.
Restoration of the remaining 10 days “is certainly something we will consider during our upcoming budget meetings,” Mayfield said recently.
Deal said Friday that as the state observes the 20-year milestone for pre-k it also has to recognize that Georgia has to expand beyond the traditional k-12 model to be competitive in a challenging global economy.
“Our nationally recognized pre-k program is the first step to ensuring we have a highly educated workforce ready for the 21st century,” the governor said.
Bobby Cagle, commissioner of Bright from the Start: the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, said research shows that early education from birth to age 5 is critical to children’s success in kindergarten and elementary school.
“As a result, we believe investing in our youngest learners is important not only to their personal success but also to the long-term economic growth and potential of Georgia,” Cagle said.
This is the second year that the nonprofit Voices for Georgia’s Children and others have sponsored Pre-k Week in Georgia.
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