Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Hearing
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Dear Chairman Harkin and Honorable Members of the Committee:
My name is
Let me begin by sharing with you a small piece of my personal story: I am a proud
I graduated from the
I can say with confidence that the success I have enjoyed as an adult would not have been possible without the tremendous amount of support I received as a young person. That's why I am so glad to support the legislation that is before your Committee today.
The Strong Start for America's Children Act would launch a 10-year federal and state partnership designed to expand and improve early learning opportunities for America's youngest learners. Specifically, this legislation would create America's first federal funding formula for high-quality, full-day pre-kindergarten for four-year old children for families earning up to 200% of the federal poverty level. And importantly, this legislation does not sacrifice quality in the name of expanding access: participating states must ensure that educators are highly qualified, that student-teacher ratios are low and that instruction is grounded in evidence and developmentally appropriate practices.
Early childhood education is critically important for the development of our young people and the communities in which they live. Studies have demonstrated that participation in pre-kindergarten programs help young people develop important cognitive, behavioral and problem-solving skills. Pre kindergarten graduates are more likely to attend college, maintain a full-time job, and have health insurance. n1 According to the
As Mayor, I have made early childhood learning a top priority for my administration. Our campaign to ensure that every child is reading on grade level by the end of third grade won
Our winning initiative, "Providence Talks," seeks to address research that shows that children growing up in low-income households hear up to thirty-million fewer words than their middle- and high-income peers by their fourth birthday. Here in
The work we are doing at the local level is important, but we need leadership at the highest levels to ensure that all of
America's young people cannot wait for future leaders to take action: they demand that we take action now to ensure that they have access to the same life-changing opportunities that so many of us enjoyed as young people. On behalf of young people in the
Thank you for the opportunity to address your Committee, and I welcome questions from Committee members.
n1 "High-quality preschool program produces long-term economic payoff,"
n2 "Enriching Children, Enriching the Nation: Rhode Island Summary," Lynch,
n3 "Early Childhood Education is a Top Priority for Voters, Second Only to Increasing Jobs and Economic Growth,"
n4 "The State of Preschool, 2012,"
n5 "The State of Preschool, 2012,"
n6 "The State of Preschool, 2012,"
n7 "The State of Preschool, 2012,"
n8 "The State of Preschool, 2011,"
Read this original document at: http://www.help.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Taveras.pdf
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