Let’s Keep Preschool Play-Based and Developmentally Appropriate
Parents Across America board member and leader of Parents Across America-Roanoke Valley, Laura Bowman, attended a listening session yesterday headlined by the Commissioner of Virginia Department of Social Services and the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The focus of the session was school readiness for Virginia’s at-risk three and four year olds.
In July, 2019, Virginia’s Governor signed an executive order establishing the Executive Leadership Team on School Readiness. The Team is responsible for creating recommendations that would unify Virginia early childhood systems that receive public funding and ensure all of Virginia’s at-risk three and four year olds are given access to subsidized preschool and care by the year 2025. The full text of the order is found here. It should be noted that there is no push for compulsory preschool in the Governor’s executive order. Many parents across the state (and nation) are struggling with the costs of preschool, child care, and after school care for their children. The Executive Leadership Team will inform legislation in the upcoming Virginia General Assembly session where they will ask for consolidated oversight and administration of programs across Virginia.
Laura submitted the following remarks to the Executive Leadership Team via email. Public input is being requested by the Team using the following email address: info@vecf.org.
Parents Across America is grateful to our friends at Defending the Early Years for their Early Childhood Activist Tool Kit, found here. Their website is full of resources and strategies for anyone to to use when advocating for the best interests of young children.
Dear Executive Leadership Team,
I’m Laura Bowman and I’m on the board of Parents Across America, a national child and public school advocacy organization. Thank you for asking for input on Virginia’s school readiness platform. My comments CONTINUE READING: Let’s Keep Preschool Play-Based and Developmentally Appropriate | Parents Across America