Latest Pre-Kindergarten News

March 8, 2005
Gov. Bredesen plans to visit Mt. Pleasant (Daily Herald)
MT. PLEASANT - Gov. Phil Bredesen is scheduled to visit Mt. Pleasant Elementary School at 10:15 a.m. Tuesday to highlight his plan to divert lottery funds to preschool education. Mt. Pleasant Elementary was one of a handful of schools statewide to participate in a pilot preschool program in 2001. Principal Larry Brown credits the program for turning around academic achievement at the school. "Five years ago, this school was a low-performing school and on the school improvement list with the state of Tennessee, in danger of having all kinds of sanctions against it," Brown said. "Today, this school is posting some of the highest gains in the county ... and a lot of that is a direct result of the preschool program." Brown said the program allows the students to enter kindergarten better prepared than they otherwise would be. Bredesen unveiled his plan to divert $25 million in lottery funds to preschool education earlier this year. The plan has met with resistance from some members of the General Assembly, including the lottery bill's author, State Sen. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis. Cohen has charged Bredesen's estimate of a $25 million surplus is unrealistically high and will hurt college scholarship recipients.

February 25, 2005
Education group backs governor on pre-K (Associated Press)
An early education advocacy group said yesterday that ''a quality pre-K program'' is key to children's success and the reason they're supporting Gov. Phil Bredesen's legislation to expand Tennessee's preschool program. ''The support for pre-K expansion in Tennessee is broad,'' said Diane Neighbors, chairwoman of The Alliance, a group of local, regional and statewide organizations interested in early education. ''The Alliance will continue to work hard over the coming weeks to get as many groups involved as we can in our efforts to ensure that the proposed legislation is passed for the benefit of Tennessee's children.'' Earlier this week, Bredesen unveiled the legislation behind his preschool plan. He wants to use $25 million in lottery proceeds for a pre-kindergarten program that would allow local schools to voluntarily get involved. Local districts would chip in to help pay for the program at the same rate they are required to pay for K-12 education. Eventually, Bredesen envisions a statewide preschool program that would cost as much as $275 million. Bredesen said he doesn't plan on using much more than $25 million in lottery money to pay for it. Right now the state runs a pilot pre-K program for ''at-risk'' 4-year-olds. Bredesen said it has shown that preschool gives students a better chance to succeed in school.

February 23, 2005
Bredesen unveils bill to push preschool plan (Associated Press)
NASHVILLE - The governor unrolled legislation Tuesday behind his preschool plan, saying it's possible there may be enough lottery money for both it and an effort to increase college scholarships. Gov. Phil Bredesen wants to use $25 million in lottery proceeds for a prekindergarten program that would allow local schools to voluntarily get involved. Local districts would chip in to help pay for the program at the same rate they are required to pay for K-12 education. Currently, the year-old lottery is funding only scholarships. Some in the Legislature have said they think extra lottery money should go toward increasing the base scholarships from $3,000 to $4,000 and doubling the supplements for needy students to $2,000. The governor said he's aware of the effort and will consider it. "I know that everyone is looking really closely to see if it's possible to do both, and it may well be," Bredesen said at a Nashville elementary school where he was talking about the preschool legislation. "The lottery has done quite well financially, and it may be possible to do that."

Bredesen stumps for pre-K funds (Commercial Appeal)
Governor says expansion top budget priority. NASHVILLE -- Gov. Phil Bredesen said Tuesday his pre-kindergarten proposal is such a priority for him that it would be the last to be axed if plans to cut TennCare are thwarted and he has to slash the state budget. To kick off his push for legislative approval of the program, the governor read to 4- and 5-year-old pupils in pre-kindergarten classes at Nashville's Fall-Hamilton Elementary School Tuesday morning. The school, across the street from the State Fairgrounds, participates in a "pilot" pre-K program that the state has funded on a limited basis since 1998. Bredesen is proposing to spend $25 million a year in surplus state lottery money to expand the pre-K program to school districts that want to provide more pre-K classes. The program would be voluntary for parents as well; it would not be required for enrollment in kindergarten. "Pre-kindergarten is not just for at-risk children any more. This legislation will transform our highly successful pre-K pilot program into a fundamental priority for our state. This is the right thing to do for our kids and the right thing to do for every community in Tennessee," the governor said. Bredesen was joined at the school by Cabinet members and legislators sponsoring the pre-K bill, including state Sens. Jim Kyle, D-Memphis, and Don McLeary, D-Humboldt. Freshman Republican Sen. Jim Tracy of Shelbyville, a former school board member, also joined as a sponsor, making the push bipartisan, the governor said.

Bredesen Promotes Pre-K Program at Local School (WTVF-TV Nashville)
Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen went to school Tuesday. You may have heard by now the Governor wants to make Pre-K education available to every 4-year-old in the state. He took that message to students at Fall-Hamilton Elementary School in South Nashville on Tuesday. Surrounded by students and supporters, the governor talked about funding and the academic criteria of the program. Governor Bredesen stressed that local communities should decide whether or not to participate. Bredesen also emphasized that education can improve peoples' lives. "There's an Old Testament proverb that says, ‘Train a child in the ways he should go and when he's old he will not turn from it’. It's one of the basic requirements for improving our lives and the lives of our citizens. It’s ensuring that they have access to a quality education," said Bredesen. The governor plans to use $25 million of excess money from the lottery to help fund the program.

Bredesen releases pre-K bill ( Nashville City Paper)
Governor Phil Bredesen released the proposed legislation that would create his voluntary statewide pre-K program Tuesday during a visit to Fall-Hamilton Enhanced Option School in Nashville. Funds in the first year at least will go to districts with existing classroom space, not toward helping districts build pre-K space or retrofit existing classrooms. “I think with an early program in this first year, I’m hoping this money directly can go into the classrooms of school districts that have them available this first year,” Bredesen said, later adding, “…We couldn’t use the money next year otherwise because we can’t build a classroom that quickly.” The governor said they will evaluate which districts have capital needs as applications come in and would consider that a possible use of funds in future years.

Governor Unveils Details Of Legislation To Expand Pre-K Classes (WPTY-TV Mem.)
Governor Bredesen today unveiled legislation behind his preschool plan. He said it's possible there may be enough lottery money for both it and an effort to increase college scholarships. Currently, the year-old lottery is funding only scholarships. Some legislators have said they think extra lottery money should go toward increasing the base scholarships from three-thousand to four-thousand dollars and doubling the supplements for needy students to two-thousand dollars. The governor said he's aware of the effort and will consider it.

Governor seeks support for pre-K proposal (Tennessean)
Research from pilot program shows academic benefits. Gov. Phil Bredesen grabbed a seat on the rug of a Fall-Hamilton Elementary pre-kindergarten classroom yesterday and read the Bear Snores On book. He paused to point out yellows, reds, a bear and a mouse to his rapt audience of 4- and 5-year-olds. He also asked the youngsters what they liked about preschool and encouraged them to read an extra book for him. After Bredesen left, 5-year-old Jaylen Barnett tried to recall whom he had just met and what he does for a living. ''The governor,'' Jaylen said, remembering he had been told the man's job. ''He gives us money.'' And he's trying to give them more. Bredesen was at the Metro elementary school yesterday to drum up support for his pre-K initiative, and, if he has his way, there will be more state money to add pre-K classes statewide this fall. ''This is the right thing to do for our kids,'' he said in Fall-Hamilton's school library, shortly after visiting Jaylen's classroom. Bredesen earmarked $25 million in lottery proceeds for pre-K in his proposed 2005-06 budget, and yesterday he celebrated having the legislative package in hand. Sponsored by Rep. Kim McMillan, D-Clarksville, and Sen. James Kyle, D-Memphis, it will now begin making its way through the General Assembly.

Bredesen outlines pre-K goals ( Nashville Business Journal)
Gov. Phil Bredesen was stumping today for his pre-kindergarten legislative package at Fall-Hamilton Elementary School in Nashville, outlining the scope of the initiative aimed at making pre-school education available to every 4-year-old in the state. The legislation calls for setting up a funding network that pre-school programs could join to add classrooms. Earlier this year, Bredesen included $25 million of new funding from excess lottery funds for expanding pre-school programs. Tennessee's pre-K pilot program began in 1998 as an effort to boost pre-school education of at-risk children. There are now 148 pre-school classrooms funded by the state through that pilot. If Bredesen's budget proposal is adopted, the number of such classrooms funded will rise to more than 300. Under the governor's plan, local communities, through their school systems, can decide whether to take part in the program and how many classrooms they want to add. The legislation also sets the underlying academic criteria and quality standards for participating programs and creates the Office of Early Learning inside the Department of Education. That office will monitor the programs for accountability and oversee the application process, consult with communities about new programs and work with child care providers and Head Start programs.

Feb. 6- Feb. 17, 2005 News

Jan. 22- Feb. 2, 2005 News