2012 Tri-Cities Pre-K Summit

Pre-K SummitCollaborating on Quality Education for Preschool

Students in the Tri-Cities Area

October 4, 2012 | 5pm |Tabernacle Baptist Church418 Halifax St. Petersburg, VA

Our Purpose

Working to ensure school

readiness for all at-risk children

in the Tri-Cities Area.

The NeedAt least 50% of VPI funding is provided by state funds, with the rest covered by localities. In the

Tri-Cities area, localities pay an average of 35% of the cost of VPI for FY 2013 and FY 2014.

However, many localities do not serve all children who qualify for VPI.

Charles City, Hopewell, and Surry used 100% of

their VPI slots in FY 2012.

The Need

Petersburg and Prince George used more than three quarters of their

slots.

The Need

Dinwiddie used just over half its slots. Colonial Heights served 30%.

The Need

Chesterfield served 17% of the 663 children

eligible for VPI.

The Need

Sussex does not currently offer a VPI program for its

7 eligible children.

The Need

The BenefitA 2007 JLARC report, “Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI):

Current Implementation and Potential Changes,” describes the measurable, significant benefits of VPI:

•Students in VPI classrooms performed approximately 21 percentage points better on the PALS-Pre-K than students who did not attend preschool.

•Using the PALS-K, students who attended VPI were identified as needing further assistance at a lower rate than students who did not attend a preschool program.

The Benefit•VPI graduates performed 6.7 points higher on the PALS-K than their predicted score (a prediction of what they would have scored without attending a preschool program).

•Students who attended any publicly funded preschool program performed better on third grade SOLs than other economically-disadvantaged students.

“High-quality pre-kindergarten programs have positive effects on children’s school readiness,

leveling the playing field by preventing disadvantaged children from lagging behind

more advantaged children in kindergarten and later school years.”*

*All quotes on this and following slides are taken from the Smart Beginnings Greater Richmond booklet, “Early childhood development directly affects economic vitality. We can tell you how . . . ” The original source will be cited on each individual slide.

Mead, S. (2004). National Pre-K strategy unveiled. Washington, D.C.: Progressive Policy Institute. www.ppionline.org/documents/prek_0904.pdf.

The Benefit

The Benefit“A good preschool can offer a 12% annual return after

inflation.”

Rolnick, A., and R. Grunewalk, 2003. Early childhood development: economic development with a high public return. FedGazette.

The Benefit“For every dollar invested in early childhood development programs, there is a $7-$8

public return.”

Beckstrom, M. 2003. ‘Invest in kids’ taken literally, Saint Paul Pioneer Press, October 24, city edition.

The Benefit“At-risk children who [do] not attend quality early childhood education programs [are] 70% more likely to be arrested for

violent crime by age 18.”

Newman, S., Brazelton, T.B., Zigler, E., Sherman, L., Bratton, W., Sanders, J., Christenson, W. 2000. America’s Child Care Crisis: A Crime Prevention Tragedy. Washington, DC: Fight Crime: Invest in Kids.

The Take-AwayQuality early childhood education is essential to the success of our community. Let’s make sure all of

our most at-risk children can benefit from it.

Pre-K Works!