MONTGOMERY – Governor Robert Bentley on Thursday announced that Alabama has been awarded $17.5 million in Preschool Development Grant (PDG) funds jointly administered by the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services. This announcement marks the third year Alabama has been the recipient of these PDG dollars.
These highly competitive Preschool Development Grant dollars go toward expanding access to high quality Pre-k for children from low- to moderate-income families in high-need communities.
“What these funds mean for Alabama is more children receiving high-
quality pre-k education. The result we have seen from past usage of these funds on top of state allocated funds has been phenomenal,” Governor Bentley said. “I am proud of our teachers, parents, school administrators and the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education for giving our children a chance to succeed academically and beyond once they reach the workforce. Alabama’s First Class Voluntary Pre-K program continues to lead the nation in quality.”
A press release issued by the U.S. Department of Education highlights Alabama as one of six states that met or substantially exceeded their target for number of children reached by new classrooms made available through PDG funds.
The addition of PDG funds to state allocations significantly increased the percentage of young children who are receiving voluntary, high-quality preschool programs in Alabama. PDG funds allowed for the establishment of 117 new classrooms, exceeding the goal of 100 new classrooms. PDG funds and state allocations combined supported access to high-quality preschool programs for 10,535 of the state’s 58,740 four-year-olds during the 2015-2016 school year, which represents 17.9% of eligible four-year-olds in Alabama, a substantial increase from 9.1% before PDG funds were made available.
Jeana Ross
Secretary of the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education Jeana Ross has been a champion of the Alabama First Class Voluntary Pre-K program and a leader in early childhood education.
“The Preschool Development Grant supplements the expansion of Alabama’s number one nationally ranked high quality pre-k program,” Secretary Ross said. “Governor Bentley has provided critical leadership in setting First Class Pre-K as an education priority and the Alabama State Legislature has demonstrated its commitment to state pre-k education by providing increased appropriations in the budget.”
The state is making steady progress towards it goals of increasing access to high-quality preschool programs to 26% of eligible four-year-olds through the addition of 895 classrooms. These gains will be sustained through state allocations to maintain newly-added classrooms.
Media Release/Office of Alabama Governor Robert Bentley
