Governor Kay Ivey—along with the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education—announced in a press release yesterday that Alabama’s First Class Pre-K program will add 122 new classrooms in the fall of 2017. The new classrooms will increase the size of Alabama’s voluntary pre-kindergarten program to 938 classrooms, which will enroll approximately 16,884 four-year-olds (28 percent of all four-year-olds) statewide. These new classrooms represent a sizeable 13 percent increase in kindergarten classes across Alabama.
The release said the new classrooms were made possible due to an increase in next year’s Education Trust Fund Budget and from funding from year three of Alabama’s four-year federal Preschool Development Grant.
The location of these new classrooms is listed here.
Ivey lauded the new Pre-K classes, saying “A high-quality childhood education program has long-lasting benefits on our society as a whole. Investment in our people through education, no matter at what level, is an investment in economic development. I am proud that we are now offering our nationally acclaimed First Class Pre-K program to more Alabama children and families.”
The press release noted that Alabama’s First Class Pre-K program is managed by the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education (ADECE). This entity falls under the executive branch of the state government, which helps the governor coordinate early learning programs throughout the state.
Jeana Ross, Secretary of the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education, agreed with Governor Ivey, adding, “We are very excited that we are able to make the state’s First Class Pre-K program available to more families in the upcoming school year. I look forward to when Alabama can make the program available to all families that wish to enroll their four-year-olds.”
Yesterday’s announcement came only a week after the National Institute for Early Education Research named Alabama’s First Class Pre-K program one of the nation’s best public pre-K for the 11th consecutive year.
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