D.C. Council members yesterday gave unanimous preliminary approval to legislation expanding the city’s educational offerings to 3- and 4-year-olds, a move that coincides with a national trend to serve students before they reach kindergarten.
“What we’re doing today is nothing short of profound,” said Mary M. Cheh, Ward 3 Democrat. “The fact of the matter is unless we have this piece there will forever be a low ceiling for many of the children in the District of Columbia. This piece is the foundation for our success.”
The council’s legislation, spearheaded by Chairman Vincent C. Gray and backed by all 12 of his colleagues, would provide 2,000 new pre-kindergarten classroom slots and 125 new classrooms in the city within six years to cover children who lack access to such services.
The bill would require lead pre-kindergarten teachers to have bachelor’s degrees in areas that include early child education and child development by 2017. The program would be overseen by the Early Care and Education Administration of the Office of State Superintendent of Education, along with the D.C. Public Charter School Board.
Advocates for pre-kindergarten education say the initiative will help students improve educational performance in later years, curb the number of students placed in special-education programs and increase students’ chances of attending college.
“This is the foundation for our ability to improve schools K through 12 and puts us on track to ensure that we significantly and dramatically improve the education system in this [city],” said Carrie Thornhill, co-chairwoman of the advocacy group Pre-K for All D.C., which has backed the legislation.
The District in 1972 became one of the first jurisdictions to create pre-kindergarten offerings in its public schools, according to the group. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty’s fiscal 2009 budget proposal, which includes $773 million for D.C. Public Schools, also funds a 98 percent increase in early education teachers in the city.
During the 2006-07 school year, 38 states funded pre-kindergarten initiatives, and more than 1 million children nationwide attended state-funded pre-kindergarten classes at an average cost of $3,642 per student, according to the National Institute for Early Education Research. A dozen states have yet to implement similar programs.
The group said 22 percent of the nation’s 4-year-olds are enrolled in state-funded pre-kindergarten programs and one-quarter of preschoolers are not enrolled in any such program.
Mr. Gray, a Democrat, said the D.C. initiative is “an investment in our children and in the future of the District of Columbia.”
“The sooner we can get these young people, the better chance they have to survive in this world,” said council member Carol Schwartz, at-large Republican.
• Sterling Meyers contributed to this report.
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