CALIFORNIA — Kingsburg Police Chief and State Legislator Tour Preschool, Discuss Crime-Prevention Benefits

Nov 13th 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Nov. 13, 2009

Contact: Jennifer Ortega, (916) 837-3904, jortega@calfightcrime.org

KINGSBURG (FRESNO CO.) — Assemblymember Danny Gilmore (R-Hanford) and Kingsburg Police Chief Jeff Dunn today visited students at Washington Elementary School’s state-funded preschool, to see first-hand how early education is preparing children for the future.

“To keep our communities safe, we need to keep kids safe. We can do this by giving them a good start in life, which includes access to a high-quality preschool program,” said Chief Dunn, an active member of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California – a bipartisan, anti-crime organization led by nearly 400 sheriffs, police chiefs, district attorneys, other police leaders and victims of violence. “Research shows that quality early education programs are one of the best crime-prevention tools around.”

Assemblymember Gilmore joined Chief Dunn in reading to the children and touring their classroom. They also met with local education leaders to discuss the benefits of high-quality preschool programs and the need for continued investments in early education. Participants included: Washington Elementary School Principal Shirley Esau; preschool teacher Katja Carlton; Kingsburg Elementary Charter School District Superintendent Dr. Mark Ford; Fresno County Office of Education representative Michelle Roman; First 5 Fresno County Executive Director Kendra Rodgers; and Rebecca Chamow of Preschool California.

Studies show that children who attend a high-quality preschool are less likely to get in trouble with the law, and are 44 percent more likely to graduate from high school – something that is critically important to Fresno County, which has a high school dropout rate of 24 percent.

Preschool helps cultivate a well-educated, skilled workforce by giving young children a solid foundation of social and intellectual growth. In cost-benefit analyses, economists have found high-quality preschool provides an excellent return on investment.

However, access to quality preschool programs remains limited and many of the kids who need it most are not enrolled. According to the RAND Corporation’s California Preschool Study, only about half of low-income children are in preschool, compared to 80 percent of children whose families earn more than $100,000 a year.

Thanks to recent action in Washington, D.C., early childhood education has become a priority for lawmakers across the country. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), or stimulus bill, provides more than $5 billion in early care and education funding.

Additionally, if legislation introduced by California Congressman George Miller (D-Martinez) passes the Senate and is signed by the President, early childhood education around the nation would be eligible for $8 billion in competitive grants over the next eight years.

Just this week (Nov. 10), Governor Schwarzenegger signed an executive order creating the California State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care that positions California to compete for and receive millions of federal funds for early education programs. The council, a statewide planning body, will ensure efficiency, effectiveness and accountability in California’s early childhood education system.

Last year, the state made significant progress in the area of early education. AB 2759 (Jones) streamlined several preschool funding sources to assist in quality improvements, reduce administrative burdens and make preschool more accessible.

SB 1629 (Steinberg), also enacted in 2008, established the Early Learning Quality Improvement System advisory committee, which began meeting in March. The committee will lay the framework for quality standards for preschool and child care programs. Development of the quality improvement system will consider research, policies, program information, and best practices at the national, state, and local levels.

On behalf of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, Chief Dunn, along with law enforcement leaders around the state, have called for continued investments in access to quality preschool as a means of protecting public safety.

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Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California is a bipartisan, non-profit, anti-crime organization led by nearly 400 sheriffs, police chiefs, district attorneys, and victims of violence. Its mission is to take a critical look at the research about what really works to keep kids from becoming criminals. Among the strategies proven to be effective are preschool, after-school programs, child abuse and neglect prevention programs, dropout-prevention programs and intensive interventions for juvenile offenders. www.fightcrime.org/ca