Don Owens
Office 202.862.9863
Mobile 202.302.5928
dowens@preknow.org

(Washington, DC) - Pre-K Now today lauded the governor, legislators and early learning advocates in New Mexico for taking a bold step toward a brighter future for the state's young learners by approving legislation that will create a pilot pre-k program.

"New Mexico's new pre-k program can become a model of success emulated by other states in the Southwest," said Libby Doggett, executive director of Pre-K Now. "The state's leaders recognize that quality pre-k can no longer be considered a luxury for upper-income families or a special program for the disadvantaged."

New Mexico joins states like Oklahoma and Florida who have committed themselves to providing early childhood education to their youngest learners. Of the 28,000 four year olds in New Mexico, about half are not currently in any kind of pre-k environment. The pilot program has a one-time appropriation of $5 million. The pre-k bill lays out a framework on which an expansion of the program can be based once the success of the pilot is evaluated. Advocates and policymakers will work to secure recurring funding with the goal of making pre-k available to all of the state's four year olds.

By phasing in access to pre-k for all the state's four year olds over the coming years, New Mexico is laying the foundation for children to become better learners, more successful students and later on, more productive and highly skilled workers. The important work that remains for policymakers and early learning advocates is to ensure that more teachers with bachelor's degrees and early education training are included in the pre-k program and that a stable funding source is identified for future program expansion.

"New Mexico is on the road to helping all children be prepared to learn and succeed in kindergarten and beyond," Doggett said. "Pre-K Now congratulates New Mexicans on this important first step toward improved outcomes for children."

Pre-K Now collaborates with state advocates and policymakers to lead a movement for high-quality, voluntary pre-kindergarten for all three and four year olds. We gratefully acknowledge past and present funders: The Pew Charitable Trusts, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Schumann Fund for New Jersey, the Foundation for Child Development, the Kellogg Foundation, the Joyce Foundation and the McCormick Tribune Foundation.

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