ScoopToo

One of our critical priorities in the Denver Public Schools is increasing our kids’ access to high quality preschool and full-day kindergarten.  Research is clear that preschool and full-day kindergarten are critical for a child’s academic and social development and the long-term benefit of high quality education in these years pays long-term dividends.

In the last three years, thanks in large part to the creation of the Denver Preschool Program—a voter-approved initiative to support preschool in Denver – we have increased the number of our 4-year-olds in full-day preschool by over five times, from 500 to over 2,500.  We have also focused our resources on expanding full-day kindergarten, and we have increased in the last three years the percentage of our 5-year-olds in full day kindergarten from just over 70% to over 95%.  These programs are vital for all families and of special importance for our families in poverty and our English language learners, many of whom do not have access to private preschool.

That is why I am thrilled to announce that on Tuesday, we’ll be building on that success by breaking ground on the construction of a new Montbello Early Education Center to serve Far Northeast Denver. Beginning in August of next year, the center will serve approximately 300 3- and 4-year-olds in a $5.5 million, state-of-the-art facility at 5300 Crown Blvd.

Funds for the construction are coming from the $454 million bond program that voters approved in 2008. Because of efficient management and favorable market conditions, we’re currently $70 million under budget and a year ahead of schedule in completing all of the bond projects. Those savings have allowed us to start building a third elementary school in Stapleton, upgrade technology across the district, and now add to our early childhood education facilities and offerings.

Our mission is to make sure every neighborhood in Denver has great schools, from preschool to high school.  And we want to do a better job of making it easy for parents to get information about the schools that are the right fit for their child. That’s why, in partnership with the ScoopToo education blog, we’re hosting a series of “Early Education Scoop” events across the city. The first was held Nov. 8 and drew about 150 parents to the Center for Early Education at the Knight facility in Central Denver, which serves over 200 preschool and kindergarten students.  The final two “Scoops” will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on December 8 at Palmer Elementary in Northeast Denver, 995 Grape St., and Jan. 6 at Valdez Elementary in Northwest Denver, 2525 W. 29th Ave. Click here for more information.

We need to keep strengthening and growing our preschool and kindergarten programs. That’s a very tough challenge, however, given that Colorado lags far behind other states in funding these early-years programs.  As a state, we only fund a half-day of kindergarten instruction and make only a minimal investment in preschool education.  While I fully understand the current funding challenges the state faces in the wake of the nation’s economic crisis, I firmly believe that we need to come together and agree as a community to significantly increase our investment in preschool and kindergarten.

There’s nothing more critical to the strength and future of our nation than the education of our children. On a global scale, however, we’ve gone from an education Goliath to the middle of the pack over the course of one generation. We need to reverse that. And we need to start early.

Best,

Tom