For a Kindergartner to feel, “I am inferior; I’m not worthy,” is a travesty.
On June 24th, AARO launched a region-wide Pre-K enrollment effort in partnership with school districts, health centers, community providers, nonprofits, and others.
“We know that only half of all Central Texas students are Kindergarten ready when they enter school. And, every year in Central Texas about 1,900 low-income 4-year-olds are eligible for FREE public school Pre-K, but they don’t enroll,” said Susan Dawson, AARO P-16 Education Committee Chair and President/Executive Director – E3 Alliance. Attendance in a high quality Pre-K is not only important for school readiness; it is highly correlated with reading at grade level, high school graduation, and even income level.
AARO partners in this Pre-K enrollment effort are helping to find the parents of the 1,900 low-income, eligible 4-year-olds to encourage them to enroll their children in free Pre-K programs in their school districts. That means these students will more likely be ready for Kindergarten, and our region could see a $30 M return-on-investment over the students’ lifetimes, per annual cohort of students, said Ms. Dawson.
