Washington, DC -
10/14/2009 - Pre-K Now, a campaign of the Pew Center on the States, is releasing a new national report, "Votes Count: Legislative Action on Pre-K Fiscal Year 2010" on Thursday, October 22nd revealing which state leaders are investing in high-quality pre-k — a proven economic development strategy with returns of up to $7 for every dollar invested.
The report, a follow-up to last spring's "Leadership Matters: Governors' Pre-K Proposals for Fiscal Year 2010," helps Americans determine whether their elected leaders are committing the resources necessary to develop the successful students and skilled workers central to economic recovery.
WHAT:
Release of Pre-K Now annual report on legislative action on pre-k for the coming year, which includes:
- Case studies of states leading the effort to provide pre-k;
- The advantages of one particular funding strategy for early education;
- Data on the states making the largest cuts and the effect those cuts will have on children's access to high-quality pre-k programs;
- Information on states that are using funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to help fund pre-k programs; and
- A 50-state chart that shows how each state is funding pre-k.
WHEN:
9:00 a.m. EDT, Thursday, October 22, 2009
WHERE:
"Votes Count" will be available on October 22nd, at
www.pewcenteronthestates.org/preknow along with state-specific news releases.
WHO:
Experts will be available for comment, including:
- Marci Young, project director, Pre-K Now
- Kathy Patterson, government relations senior officer, Pew Center on the States
- Albert Wat, project manager, Pre-K Now
For more information or to talk to a pre-k policy expert, please contact Liz Snyder at 202.552.2057 or
esnyder@pewtrusts.org.