Alabama pre-k program curriculum

Additional classrooms will be announced in the coming months. Advocates from the Alabama School Readiness Alliance welcomed the new classroom announcement. In addition to its legislative advocacy, in recent years, ASRA has led outreach efforts to encourage existing preschool providers to apply for First Class Pre-K funding.

Of the new classrooms announced for , nearly two-thirds were awarded to providers operating outside of a public school setting. ASRA estimates that this percentage is expected to increase with a second round of classroom announcements. Alabama needs to reach at least 70 percent of four-year-olds in each community for every family interested in participating to be able to enroll. Research by the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama and the University of Alabama at Birmingham has found that students who participate in a First Class Pre-K classroom — regardless of demographics, zip code, or school — are more likely to be proficient in math and reading than their peers.

It allocates funding for the First Class Pre-K program through a competitive and needs-based application process. Public and private schools, child care centers, faith-based centers, Head Start programs, nonprofits, universities, and other community-based providers are all eligible to apply. The Alabama School Readiness Alliance advocates for the expansion of high-quality, voluntary pre-kindergarten.

Visit alabamaschoolreadiness. The Alabama School Readiness Alliance is a statewide, nonprofit coalition advocating for the expansion of high-quality, voluntary pre-k. Skip to content. Click here to read the full study.

This means that the methods used to draw the conclusions in the study are based on the highest research standards.

Researchers from UAB and the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama have followed the progress of students through eighth grade and found that — regardless of zip code, demographics or school — First Class Pre-K graduates are more likely to be proficient in reading and math on state assessments, less likely to be chronically absent from school, less likely to be held back a grade, less likely to need special education services, and less likely to have a serious disciplinary issue.

Students who attended the First Class Pre-K program in Alabama are more likely to be proficient in reading and math compared to other students — and this academic advantage persists over time. All of these measures produce savings to the education system that recur year after year as students progress through school. These early years provide a window for developing a foundation for sustained success.

Problems that emerge during the early years are more difficult to address later on. High-quality pre-k programs provide opportunities to address gaps in early child development and to improve school readiness. The effectiveness of quality pre-k in preparing students for kindergarten has been well documented.

However, recent studies in other states have suggested the impact of pre-k programs fade away once students are in school, especially in the later grades. We studied three years , , and of student scores on state reading and math assessments, comparing students who received First Class Pre-K with those who did not receive First Class Pre-K.