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Dorn Testifies on Early Learning Progress
OLYMPIA — January 19, 2011 — The Legislature should increase funding for all-day kindergarten – or at least maintain its existing funding, State Superintendent Randy Dorn said this morning.
Dorn made those remarks while on a panel for the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee, testifying with Department of Early Learning Director Bette Hyde and Thrive By Five Washington President and CEO Nina Auerbach.
Much of the testimony concerned the
Early Learning Plan, a joint project by the three organizations that lays out a 10-year, coordinated roadmap for early learning. The plan maps out what should be done and when it should be done, as well as how success will be measured.
Dorn talked specifically about the implementation of full-day kindergarten. Currently, about one in five students are enrolled in state-funded, all-day kindergarten. “We know that investing in early learning is a great investment – as much as seven or eight dollars to every one that’s spent,” Dorn said. “Full-day kindergarten gives young children – especially poor children – time to learn the foundational skills and knowledge they’ll need to be successful students later.”
The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) is the primary agency charged with overseeing K-12 education in Washington state. Led by State School Superintendent Randy Dorn, OSPI works with the state’s 295 school districts and nine Educational Service Districts to administer basic education programs and implement education reform on behalf of more than one million public school students.
OSPI does not discriminate and provides equal access to its programs and services for all persons without regard to race, color, gender, religion, creed, marital status, national origin, sexual preference/orientation, age, veteran’s status or the presence of any physical, sensory or mental disability.
CONTACT:
Nathan Olson
OSPI Communications Manager
(360) 725-6015
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