 |
Educating 3-Year-Olds: Governor unveils program
By BARBARA HOBEROCK World Capitol Bureau
1/30/2007
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Gov. Brad Henry on Monday unveiled an early childhood
education initiative calling for voluntary school programs for
3-year-olds.
Henry said he will ask lawmakers for $30 million for the plans.
The first $15 million will be used to fund program for 3-year-olds. The
rest would be used to attract private money to fund programs similar to
Tulsa's Educare, which focuses on at-risk young children.
"Educare is a great public-private partnership that is making a positive
difference in the lives of parents and children in the Tulsa area,"
Henry said at a Capitol press conference.
The pilot voluntary program for 3- year-olds could be in place by next
school year or the following year, Henry said.
Oklahoma already has a voluntary program for 4-year-olds. About 70
percent of 4-year-olds participate, Henry said.
"This is about giving parents more choices when it comes to the
education of their children," Henry said. "All of the research tells us
that the early years are critical to a child's future success.
"Kids who take advantage of early education opportunities are more
likely to graduate and get a good job and less likely to end up on
welfare or in prison."
Kendall-Whittier Elementary School early childhood education teacher
Janet McKenzie, who joined Henry at the press conference, said
3-year-olds work on developing oral language skill, listen to a lot of
stories, explore, talk and discuss colors and pictures in the classes.
McKenzie said when she began teaching at a new program at Tulsa's
Kendall-Whittier Elementary School in 1992, many 5-year-olds didn't know
their full name, how write their name, hold a pair of scissors, their
colors and the difference between letters and numbers. Many had never
seen a book, she said.
But expectations are changing, she said.
Henry said the initiatives can be funded without a tax increase.
A Republican leader said the state needs to make sure it pays for
existing programs before it creates new ones.
"Senate Republicans believe we need to take care of our current
commitments to education, transportation and public safety before
spending more money on new government programs," said Senate
Co-President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee, R-Oklahoma City.
Senate Pro Tem Mike Morgan, D-Stillwater, could not be reached for
comment.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
http://www.governor.state.ok.us/
ABOUT THE LISTSERV
The message that you just received was posted to the Early Childhood Work
Group listserv, which is a moderated forum. The Early Childhood Work Group
is a child advocacy group that exists to support the early childhood
legislative agenda of the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy. This
listserv has been created to allow open communication between individuals
across Oklahoma who are interested in supporting early childhood advocacy
efforts of all types. This forum is also used to share items of interest to
the early childhood professional community across Oklahoma.
Your postings are welcome. To post your own message to the list, send a new
email to:
Earlychildhoodworkgroup@topica.com
To read archives of past postings, visit:
http://www.topica.com/lists/Earlychildhoodworkgroup
This listserv is maintained by Dawn Parton. Please call 918-633-9555 or
email dawnparton@okstatealumni.org if you have questions or comments about
the listserv.
|
|
 |
