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Councilmember Valerie Ervin Advocates for Expanded State Funding for Preschool in Montgomery County |
Greetings!
Last Thursday, I met with the Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, Anthony Brown, in Langley Park for a discussion about the importance of expanding state funds for preschool programs and to tour the County's first universal preschool pilot program, CentroNía. This program provides 40 children and their families with high-quality (fully accredited), bilingual, full-day, full-year preschool, including wraparound social services for the child and family.
My discussion with the Lieutenant Governor focused on Montgomery County's desire to expand preschool services in coordination with the State of Maryland's Preschool for All recommendations that Universal Preschool be made available to all Maryland four year-olds by 2014.
In this time of fiscal uncertainty, we must continue to provide opportunities to our children that will create Montgomery County's workforce for tomorrow. High-quality universal preschool is a proven strategy for closing the achievement gap and ensuring that children enter kindergarten ready to learn. Dollars spent today on preschool pay off exponentially, with reduced social and educational costs down the road. As we prioritize our budgets to meet declining revenues, we must put our children's education at the top of the list.
Special thanks to Montgomery County School Board President, Nancy Navarro, the Assistant State Superintendent for the Division of Early Childhood Development, Dr. Rolf Grafwallner, President and CEO of CentroNía, Beatriz Otero, and representatives from the County's Department of Health and Human Services and Montgomery County Public Schools for participating in this meeting.
Sincerely,
Valerie Ervin
Councilmember - District 5
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