For Immediate Release
May 31, 2006 EARLY LEARNING COUNCIL RELEASES
PRESCHOOL FOR ALL REPORT
Report is the Blueprint for Governor’s Initiative
(CHICAGO, May 31, 2006) The Illinois Early Learning Council
today released the “Preschool for All” report
upon which Governor Rod Blagojevich’s “Preschool
for All” initiative is built. The report outlines
recommendations which served as the blueprint for Governor
Blagojevich’s proposal. The Governor’s preschool
expansion legislation passed the Illinois General Assembly
with strong bipartisan support.
Illinois is the first state in the nation to make all
3- and 4-year-olds eligible for state-funded preschool.
The FY07 budget includes a $45 million increase to reach
10,000 additional children, with continued aggressive
expansion planned over the next several years. When Preschool
for All is fully funded, 190,000 children will be served.
The Preschool for All report is the product of the Illinois
Early Learning Council, which was created in 2003 to make
recommendations to meet the early learning needs of all
children by establishing a high-quality, accessible and
comprehensive early learning system. The Council is co-chaired
by Elliot Regenstein, Director of Education Reform for
Governor Blagojevich, and Harriet Meyer, President of
the Ounce of Prevention Fund.
“Governor Blagojevich has been a champion of preschool
funding, and has made Illinois a national leader at preschool
expansion,” said Regenstein. “The Preschool
for All report is truly the blueprint for that expansion,
and we are grateful to the many members of the Early Learning
Council whose hard work made this report possible. We
know that this report will not only guide the work of
thousands of dedicated educators here in Illinois, it
will also ensure that Illinois' preschool program will
continue to be a model for other states throughout the
country."
“The Preschool for All report shows the thinking,
priorities and strategies that went into an initiative
that is getting national attention,” said Meyer.
“We are building on what is right with our early
childhood system, including the two-year preschool program,
our emphasis on quality and a strong commitment to the
notion that learning begins at birth.” Eleven percent
of Preschool for All funding is set aside for at risk
infants and toddlers.
For the first time, programs will be allowed to use state
dollars to serve kids who are not at risk. All programs
are encouraged to apply, and awards will be made depending
on available funding. Programs that serve primarily at-risk
children will be the first priority, but for the first
time those programs will be allowed to serve children
who are not at risk.
“Preschool for All will bring high-quality preschool
to thousands of children who otherwise would not have
received it,” said Dr. Vinni Hall, a member of the
Illinois State Board of Education who serves on the Early
Learning Council. Preschool for All will be administered
by the Illinois State Board of Education, except in Chicago,
where the will Chicago Public Schools administer the program
using the same criteria.
More than 50 appointed Early Learning Council members
and more than 200 committee members took part in the process
that led to the Preschool for All report. Stakeholders
represented schools, the early childhood community, business,
law enforcement, the General Assembly, foundations and
parents.
The report is available for download at the Illinois
Early Learning Council website, and will be printed in
June. To view the report, go to: http://www.illinois.gov/gov/elc/reports/Preschool-for-All_051006.pdf
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