Governor Kay Ivey and the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education (ADECE) announced on Tuesday the expansion of the Alabama First Class Pre-K program.
The department will initially add 69 classrooms in 30 counties this fall, providing seats for more than 1,200 children. The governor's office reported the classrooms included in this first round are part of Ivey’s specific education initiatives that include addressing turnaround schools and high needs areas. In an online statement, Ivey said ensuring Alabama students have a strong start to their education is one of the top priorities for her second term.
“Alabama continues to set the nationwide standard for success with the Alabama First Class Pre-K program,” Ivey said in a press release. “I am excited to see additional classrooms being awarded to areas of the state with low access and high rates of poverty. Providing all children, no matter their zip code, with a solid foundation in education is critical to the future success of our state.”
Last month, the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) ranked Alabama First Class Pre-K as the nation’s highest quality state pre-kindergarten program for the 17th consecutive year. Alabama also meets all 10 of NIEER's quality standard benchmarks.
Dr. Jan Hume is the acting secretary of the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education (ADECE). She said Alabama's state pre-K program is growing and will soon serve a majority of Alabama children.
“Through the leadership of Governor Ivey and the Alabama Legislature, Alabama’s state pre-K program continues to move toward the goal of serving 70% of Alabama’s population of 4-year-old children,” Dr. Hume said in an online statement. “Since the program’s creation in 2000, we continue to prioritize age appropriate, impactful early learning and development experiences for children and their families.”
The governor's office said the state's investment in high-quality pre-kindergarten has led to substantial positive outcomes for children who participate in the program. Research on the program’s long-term impacts shows that students who participated in First Class Pre-K are more likely to be successful throughout their school careers than their peers who did not participate in the program.
Governor Ivey signed the 2024 Education Trust Fund budget, which included an almost $12 million increase for the Office of School Readiness that administers First Class Pre-K. The department will continue to ensure pay parity for all First Class Pre-K teachers with the same pay raise as K-12 public school teachers in the upcoming school year. The ADECE said it expects to fund additional classrooms in areas of the state with wait lists and other identified needs.
The list of new First Class Pre-K classrooms can be found on the governor's website. Pre-registration for all Alabama 4-year-olds opens on Sept. 1.