Virginia Governor Kaine Launches Start Strong Pre-K Initiative

More than doubles the number of children served to 29,500 -Includes quality ratings, promotes training of Pre-K teachers

August 16, 2007 -- RICHMOND – Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine today announced details of his Start Strong pre-kindergarten proposal at the Governor’s Summit on Early Childhood Education, unveiling a voluntary program that gradually will expand access to high-quality preschool for more of Virginia’s four-year-olds. Start Strong will build on the existing network of public and private providers, removing barriers to access such as geography and family income, potentially serving an additional 17,000 at-risk four-year-olds by the year 2012. The program will be phased-in over the next two budget cycles.

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Start Strong builds a flexible network of preschool providers, including public schools, private centers, Head Start programs, and faith-based facilities. By the year 2012, up to 67% of Virginia’s four-year-olds could be enrolled in a high-quality preschool setting. It will cost approximately $125 million annually at full implementation, approximately $75 million more than the $50 million the state currently spends each year on programs for at-risk four-year-olds. Fiscal details on the initial steps of this phase-in will be announced with the Governor’s budget proposal in December.

“We know a lot more today about a child’s brain development than we did 50 years ago, and research tells us that 90 percent of a child’s brain development occurs by age five,” Governor Kaine said. “Increasing access to high-quality preschool programs will mean that more of Virginia’s children are ready to learn when they enter kindergarten, giving them a better chance for success throughout their K-12 experience. Start Strong responsibly builds on the strength of existing preschool programs – the Virginia Preschool Initiative for at-risk four-year-olds, Head Start, private, and faith-based providers – and gradually creates a voluntary, flexible network that will better prepare Virginia’s four-year-olds for success in school – and ultimately in life.”

Virginia’s current state-funded preschool program, the Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI), serves about 12,500 at-risk four-year-olds who qualify for the free lunch program, which serves a family of four with an annual household income up to $26,845. The Start Strong initiative will expand VPI to include children who also qualify for reduced-price lunches, which will cover a family of four with annual income up to $38,203. That means Start Strong potentially could serve an additional 17,000 four-year-olds by the year 2012.

“We all can agree that no child should be denied the value of a high quality preschool experience because their parents cannot afford it, or because their community does not have the programs parents seek for their children,” said Governor Kaine. “By including private providers and faith-based facilities, we can make smarter use of our resources, focusing on quality programs rather than on bricks and mortar.”
Quality Ratings System

In addition, Start Strong includes a voluntary Quality Ratings System (QRS) that will measure, encourage, and reward quality in both public and private preschool settings. All VPI programs, whether in public or private settings, will be rated. Additionally, other private providers can choose to be rated, even if they do not participate in the state-funded program.

Using a five-star rating system, the QRS will establish a pathway of clearly identified levels of increasing quality. The state will provide technical assistance to improve program quality, and offer incentives that reward achievement in quality improvement.

“Voluntary and user-friendly ratings will help parents and guardians become better-informed consumers of the services and resources that are available for their children,” Governor Kaine said. “Our Start Strong program will be reinforced by a set of clear goals. We will measure progress, and we will communicate those results to parents.”

By the year 2012, the early childhood network, featuring expanded access to preschool programs and implementation of the QRS among a variety of settings, has the potential to serve 67% of Virginia's four-year-olds in a high-quality, early learning setting.

Start Strong also will encourage public/private collaboration at the local level, assembling diverse providers, as well as consumers, to identify community needs and make the appropriate decisions at the local level about how to meet each community’s early childhood education needs.
Early Childhood Workforce Development

In addition, Governor Kaine’s Start Strong proposal includes steps to strengthen the early childhood workforce, and designates a single office to coordinate the network of preschool programs across the Commonwealth.

“Start Strong will create a coordinated system of training, mentoring, and professional development,” Governor Kaine said. “We all know that the competence and enthusiasm of the teacher are powerful ingredients for young people in any classroom, and we will work to build and maintain a strong pool of effective teachers.”

The state will encourage enhanced early childhood education programs at community colleges and universities, and will actively seek public and private resources to provide scholarships, enhanced training, and mentoring programs to develop a quality workforce to serve an expanded network of pre-K providers.

Today’s summit, the third in a series, included remarks from former North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt. North Carolina has been a model state for successful early education, particularly in expanding the availability, affordability, and quality of early childhood programs. In addition, Nobel Prize-winning economist James L. Heckman from the University of Chicago discussed the economic benefits of early childhood education.

Partners in presenting the event were the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation, the Norfolk Foundation, and the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices. Attendees included members of the education, business, military, and religious communities.

Source: Virginia Governor