Rep. Justin Parish (D-Juneau 34) has alerted us to a chance to support Alaska’s children. From his newsletter:
HB52, Pre-elementary school programs/plans, will have public testimony on Monday, March 27th at 8:00 am in the House Education Committee. Testimony instructions are the same as HB111. You can find more information on HB52 by clicking this link.
Here’s a snippet from the sponsor’s statement:
Alaska remains one of the only states that does not provide pre-kindergarten education to its children on a statewide basis. HB 52 seeks to add Alaska to the ranks of the majority of states that have recognized the need to properly invest in our children’s future.
Need to know more about why pre-K is so important? I checked around and found some additional information:
- The Center for Public Education rounds up research highlights, and states “The evidence is strong that high-quality pre-k can have significant short- and long-term impacts on children and their communities.”
- The Pew Charitable Trusts did a report in 2005 called “Why All Children Benefit from Pre-K“. “By funding pre-k for all children, states can increase standards, require research-based practices, and offer parents choices.”
- Pew also did a summary of economic analyses of pre-k programs (2007): “This 2007 review of ten studies on the economic impact of pre-k demonstrated why a growing number of business leaders and economists are increasingly convinced that high-quality pre-k is a sound investment.”
Your voice matters, so if you think pre-K is important, head down to the Legislature on Monday morning and tell your Legislators!
– Mary
