The State of Preschool 2008, released by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER), ranks all 50 states on the percentage of children served and spending per child for 2007-2008. It also compares the number of quality benchmarks met.
The Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) met seven out of 10 NIEER quality standards benchmarks and recent advances will have a positive impact on the other benchmarks.
For example, during 2008, Voices for Virginia’s Children co-led the campaign to foster public and legislative support for the governor’s expansion of VPI. In response to effective advocacy, legislators allocated $23 million so that an additional 7,000 low-income four year olds (2,000 in Northern Virginia) now have access to quality preschool. During the current governor’s administration, the number of slots has increased by 34 percent and state funding has increased by 40 percent.
During the 2009 General Assembly session, officials demonstrated further commitment to the program. Despite needing to make severe budget cuts, the General Assembly supported the governor’s request to preserve current VPI spending.
Given the strong public and legislative consensus in Virginia that pre-k for low-income four-year-olds is a sound investment, further expansion is likely once the state’s revenue picture improves.
Kathy May is Director of the Northern Virginia Office of Voices for Virginia’s Children, a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation through the Early Care and Education Funders Collaborative.
