Posted on Feb 18, 2023
Pritzker pitches $433 million early-childhood education plan in East St. Louis
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When Jordyn Rubin led her pre-K students during a counting drill Thursday in East St. Louis, they had an audience that included Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
Pritzker said seeing the excited 3- and 4-year-olds show off their skills at the Vivian D. Adams Early Childhood Center was a “great experience” as he promoted his proposal to give every Illinois toddler free preschool classes and to increase early childhood education and assistance spending by more than $433 million.
“Just to see their eyes lit up, to see what they’re learning, to hear the engagement with one another and with their teacher, honestly it does the heart good,” he said in a news conference after the classroom visit.
Smart Start Illinois is the name of the early childhood education program that was announced Wednesday as part of the $49.6 billion budget proposed by Pritzker. Along with the stop in East St. Louis, Pritzker also went to Springfield and Mount Vernon on Thursday to promote the Smart Start plan.
Pritzker said seeing the excited 3- and 4-year-olds show off their skills at the Vivian D. Adams Early Childhood Center was a “great experience” as he promoted his proposal to give every Illinois toddler free preschool classes and to increase early childhood education and assistance spending by more than $433 million.
“Just to see their eyes lit up, to see what they’re learning, to hear the engagement with one another and with their teacher, honestly it does the heart good,” he said in a news conference after the classroom visit.
Smart Start Illinois is the name of the early childhood education program that was announced Wednesday as part of the $49.6 billion budget proposed by Pritzker. Along with the stop in East St. Louis, Pritzker also went to Springfield and Mount Vernon on Thursday to promote the Smart Start plan.
Pritzker pitches $433 million early-childhood education plan in East St. Louis
Posted from news.stlpublicradio.org
Children
Education
Posted 1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Here are highlights of early childhood education programs as proposed by Pritzker on Wednesday:
— The state would increase funding for the Early Childhood Block Grant program this year by $75 million as part of the effort to reach 5,000 more children.
— The Early Childhood ACE Scholarship program would be supported at community colleges and universities to increase the number of early childhood educators.
— Smart Start Workforce Compensation Contracts would provide funding for "high-quality programming and competitive wages for caregivers," Pritzker said.
— Smart Start Childcare would permanently give unemployed persons child care assistance while they look for a job for three months. This program began in 2021.
— Illinois would add $100 million in new spending from the Rebuild Illinois program to help child care providers build new and expand existing facilities.
— The Smart Start Early Intervention funding would be increased by $40 million to support the program that gives aid to infants and toddlers birth to age 4 with developmental delays, autism, or other diagnosed medical conditions.
— Smart Start's Home Visiting program would be expanded so more visits could be made to homes an effort to improve maternal and child health, prevent child abuse, prevent domestic violence and prepare toddlers for school.
"Smart Start Illinois will save taxpayers $7 for every one dollar invested and will vault Illinois to national leadership in early childhood development," Pritzker told lawmakers Wednesday. "Enhancing quality early care and education is a win-win solution for re-mobilizing parents in the workforce, enhancing brain development and kindergarten readiness, saving taxpayers money, and increasing economic activity now and in the decades ahead."
..."Here are highlights of early childhood education programs as proposed by Pritzker on Wednesday:
— The state would increase funding for the Early Childhood Block Grant program this year by $75 million as part of the effort to reach 5,000 more children.
— The Early Childhood ACE Scholarship program would be supported at community colleges and universities to increase the number of early childhood educators.
— Smart Start Workforce Compensation Contracts would provide funding for "high-quality programming and competitive wages for caregivers," Pritzker said.
— Smart Start Childcare would permanently give unemployed persons child care assistance while they look for a job for three months. This program began in 2021.
— Illinois would add $100 million in new spending from the Rebuild Illinois program to help child care providers build new and expand existing facilities.
— The Smart Start Early Intervention funding would be increased by $40 million to support the program that gives aid to infants and toddlers birth to age 4 with developmental delays, autism, or other diagnosed medical conditions.
— Smart Start's Home Visiting program would be expanded so more visits could be made to homes an effort to improve maternal and child health, prevent child abuse, prevent domestic violence and prepare toddlers for school.
"Smart Start Illinois will save taxpayers $7 for every one dollar invested and will vault Illinois to national leadership in early childhood development," Pritzker told lawmakers Wednesday. "Enhancing quality early care and education is a win-win solution for re-mobilizing parents in the workforce, enhancing brain development and kindergarten readiness, saving taxpayers money, and increasing economic activity now and in the decades ahead."
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