Despite state and national budget shortfalls this year, Gov. Phil Bredesen said he wants to expand pre-kindergarten funding before he leaves office in 2010.

“I want this to happen on my watch,” he said Wednesday in a teleconference.

This year it may be tough to find funding, but he is hopeful about next year because pre-k is one of the best dollar-per-dollar investments parents can make, he said.

“Study after study shows pre-k’s value,” he said.

The governor met with about 75 congressional leaders Wednesday in Washington, D.C., to discuss the national pre-k movement and how state and federal governments can support it. There are at least three active bills — one proposed by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., and Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo. — that aim to expand federal pre-k funding, Gov. Bredesen said.

In 2006, Tennessee was acknowledged by the National Institute for Early Education Research as one of only six states with the highest quality of pre-k program standards.

Tennessee requires certified teachers in all early education classrooms, a solid academic curriculum and a low student-teacher ratio, Gov. Bredesen said.

Teachers in Hamilton County said there is a common misconception that pre-k is just day care.

“We follow a curriculum,” said Nicole Lantman, pre-k teacher at Birchwood Elementary School. “We keep them really busy. People think they come, they play, they nap, they come home.”

Recently, a study by the Ohio-based Strategic Research Group questioned the effectiveness of pre-k programs, reporting there was statistically no significant difference in children’s performance by the time they reached second grade whether they attended pre-k or not.

Gov. Bredesen said he doesn’t put much weight behind that study, which was called “flawed” in a letter to the Tennessee General Assembly from Pre-K Now Executive Director Libby Doggett. Based in Washington, Pre-K Now is a nationwide organization that works with policy makers to support early education.

Apison Elementary pre-k teacher Sandy Lawrence said Gov. Bredesen has been a great proponent of pre-k education, helping to increase the number of classrooms in Tennessee.

Although in Tennessee low-income children are given first priority to participate in voluntary pre-k programs, the governor wants that to change.

“If states are going to tackle pre-k, you need to make it pre-k for all,” he said.

Comments