• Click here for recent pre-K news.
• Click here for pre-K eligibility and enrollment information from the Tennessee Department of Education Office of Early Learning Web site.

Alliance Updates____________________ 

2010 Pre-K Day on the Hill

The 2010 Pre-K Day on the Hill is quickly approaching, and it's an event you don't want to miss. The Tennessee Alliance for Early Education, Stand for Children and United Ways of Tennessee will host their 2010 Pre-K Day on the Hill on Feb. 16. This undoubtedly will be the Alliance's most important Day on the Hill yet, and advocate turnout will be key to its success.

When:  Tuesday, Feb. 16
             7:30 to 9 a.m., Breakfast Reception
             9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Pre-K Day on the Hill

Where: Breakfast Reception – Tennessee Performing Arts Center
             505 Deaderick Street
             Nashville TN 37243

             Day on the Hill – Legislative Plaza
             301 Sixth Ave. N.
             Nashville, TN 37243

Please take a moment to R.S.V.P. for these events. Registering will reserve your space at the reception. It will also help us communicate Day on the Hill updates and schedule changes, should they occur. These events are free. More details to follow in the coming weeks.

U.S. Department of Education Includes Pre-K in its
Race to the Top Guidelines

The Tennessee Alliance for Early Education is pleased that the U.S. Department of Education has included pre-K in its Race to the Top guidelines. The inclusion of pre-K demonstrates a national recognition that early education is critical to the success of our public K-12 education system.

The Department's Oct. 12 Notice of Final Priorities includes the following statement: "The Department agrees that expanding access to high-quality early learning programs is a key strategy in an overall effort to raise student achievement, particularly for high-need students."

Tennessee is in the Top 5 contenders for the funding, and could receive as much as $400 million.

For more information about the Race to the Top Fund, please visit http://www.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/index.html.

Statement from the Tennessee Alliance for Early Education regarding the State Comptroller’s progress report: Assessing the Effectiveness of Tennessee’s Pre-Kindergarten Program

“The Strategic Research Group (SRG) report released today does not contain new data or draw any new conclusions about the state’s voluntary pre-K program. The fact remains that the pre-K program is doing exactly what it was intended to do – prepare at-risk 4-year-olds for kindergarten and put them on par with their peers. We look forward to seeing additional studies, not a rehashing of old data.

Tennessee’s most vulnerable children need the state’s high-quality pre-K program now more than ever. It would be premature to make decisions about the future of the program based on the findings of an incomplete report.”

- Dr. Diane Neighbors, chair of the Tennessee Alliance for Early Education

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“We are very pleased that our lawmakers did the right thing for Tennessee's most at-risk children by making pre-K a part of the recurring budget,” said Andy Spears, director of policy outreach at Stand for Children. “We are especially grateful for the leadership of Gov. Phil Bredesen and to Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey and Speaker Kent Williams for their pledges of support for pre-K. Pre-K has always been a bipartisan effort, and we salute the members of the Tennessee General Assembly for working together to honor the spirit of the program.”

In a budget compromise that was reached on Wednesday, June 17, legislators agreed to fund Tennessee’s nationally recognized pre-K program from the state’s general fund and not from non-recurring dollars, as had been proposed earlier in the week. This action protects the 250 classrooms that were in danger of being cut next year had pre-K been left in the “non-recurring” budget category.

“We don’t want to jeopardize losing our pre-K program that the administration, the House and the Senate have worked so hard to implement through the years,” House Speaker Kent Williams told Nashville television station WSMV-TV on June 15. “It sort of scares you when you do non-recurring dollars.”

“The nation has traditionally looked to Tennessee as a model for how to structure an early education program,” said Diane Neighbors, chair of the Tennessee Alliance for Early Education. “Thanks to the members of the Tennessee General Assembly, we will maintain our reputation as a state that cares about children. Our thanks go to the Senate and House leadership for their bold decision to fund pre-K with recurring budget dollars.”

About the Alliance__________________ 

The Alliance supports maintaining full funding of pre-K in 2010. We look forward to another successful legislative session, and we hope you will join our efforts.

Learn more about the Alliance here.