by Greg Lincoln
The Lower Kuskokwim School District Board of Education has passed Resolution 17-04 at their last meeting in April. This resolution declares support for mandatory Pre-K in Alaska’s public schools. Quyana! Headstart or preschool has many benefits as you can see in the resolution below.
SUPPORT FOR MANDATORY PRE-K IN ALASKA PUBLIC SCHOOLS
WHEREAS, sufficient resources must be made available within the education budget of Alaska in order to provide for high quality early childhood education, free of charge and accessible to all,
WHEREAS, the state offers only very limited pilot funding for early-learning education,
WHEREAS, many communities do not meet the qualifications for federal Head Start or early-learning funding and sources of present federal funding are uncertain,
WHEREAS, public investment in early childhood education is cost-effective, generating both human and economic rewards,
WHEREAS, early childhood education is of great value to all children and should be available to all because it provides a sound basis for learning and helps to develop skills, knowledge, personal competence, confidence and a sense of social responsibility, and
WHEREAS, well-designed preschool education programs have been shown to produce long-term improvements in a variety of school success measures, including: higher test scores, lower rates of grade retention, decrease in special education placements of up to 48 percent, gains in social emotional development and increased graduation rates,
THEREFORE, LET IT BE RESOLVED that the Lower Kuskokwim School District’s Board of Education supports the adoption of state funding policies that ensure that Alaska provides access to high quality Early Childhood Education programs for all children to increase school-readiness and to promote academic and lifelong success.
Resolution 17-04 was passed on April 29th, 2017.
