Reaching out to parents for input

The Governor's Office of Early Childhood is thrilled that Kentucky is a recipient of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Preschool Development Grant-Birth through Five (PDG B-5) and was funded $10,620,000. This brings forward so many opportunities to support the Commonwealth of Kentucky, by building a stronger foundation for children and will increase collaboration between state agencies and stakeholders to promote stronger overall quality of early childhood care and education.

The Kentucky Governor's Office of Early Childhood is conducting a survey with parents or guardians of young children to gather input on how best to plan improvements to Kentucky's early childhood system of services. Please encourage the parents in your program to complete this survey.

A large majority of Kentuckians favor increased state funding for low-income, working families to provide quality child care and preschool for their children according to the second annual Education Poll of Kentucky. The poll, which was sponsored by the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, found 74 percent of respondents said they would strongly or somewhat support such increased funding. The full poll can be seen here.

"These poll results make it clear that Kentuckians recognize the value and importance of quality early care and education for our children," said Brigitte Blom Ramsey, executive director of the Prichard Committee.

"Giving our youngest citizens the strongest possible start will establish the foundation for future academic success and a strong economy. This is a critical message for our elected leaders as they make decisions about the state budget and what programs to identify for priority funding."