This morning Governor Perdue announced that her
administration will create 2,000 additional slots this year in NC Pre-K
classrooms across North Carolina. She has identified $9.3 million that will
allow the additional at-risk 4-year-olds to attend NC Pre-K.
Dr. Olson Huff, Board President of The North Carolina Partnership for Children, Inc., has
released the following statement, which I encourage you to share with your
networks.
“Today, 2,000 four-year-olds around the state have been given a much-needed opportunity
to benefit from a program that has been proven to help children succeed in
school. Parents around the state are no doubt breathing a sigh of relief knowing
that their children will not completely miss out on the benefits of high quality
preschool.
“It is telling that the Governor made this announcement at a program that works in
partnership with Smart Start and in the company of the Wake Smart Start
Executive Director. In Superior Court Judge Howard Manning’s decision in the
ongoing Leandro case, Judge Manning emphasized the importance of early
education, calling particular attention to Smart Start, North Carolina’s early
childhood system that serves children birth to five.
‘Put another way, each at-risk child under age 4 that is receiving services from
Smart Start will be better prepared, physically and developmentally, to benefit
from NCPK’s educationally based prekindergarten programs when they arrive at age
4,’ Judge Manning wrote.
We have only 2,000 days between the time a baby is born and when that child shows up for
the first day of kindergarten. When we invest in those first 2,000 days, we
create the best outcomes in education, health and economic prosperity for
everyone in North Carolina.”
The Governor’s press release announcing the new slots is available online at http://www.governor.state.nc.us/NewsItems/PressReleaseDetail.aspx?newsItemID=2260.
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