Preschool programs get high marks

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 09:32:21 -0400

North Carolina's pre-K programs got good grades.

With its More at Four program, it was one of only two states — Alabama was the other — to meet all 10 quality standards for pre-kindergarten programs as set by the National Institute for Early Education Research, Lynn Bonner reports.

The institute, based at Rutgers University in New Jersey, looked at standards for teacher education, student-to-teacher ratios, and class sizes.

The report, which was written before the Senate budget was released Monday, included this observation:

We are concerned that unless funding per child increases in North Carolina, programs will be forced to undercut quality in some other ways (with unreasonably low teacher pay for their qualifications, for example).

The Senate has proposed cutting $40 million from the program and cut the amount it pays per student.

The state began offering More at Four in 2001. The pre-school program is open to children from low-income families or those who have other risk factors, such as educational or developmental delays.

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Preschool programs get high marks