Last week, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick released his 2014 budget recommendations, which included overwhelming support for early education.
Governor Patrick cited the importance of early literacy noting, “Third grade literacy is widely regarded as one of the most significant milestones in a child’s academic career, and it is an important predictor of future academic success.”
The budget includes initiatives aimed at achieving their goal of universal third grade reading proficiency across Massachusetts including:
- increasing access to high-quality early education programs;
- improving the quality of early education through the Quality Rating Improvement System;
- and a statewide kindergarten assessment to identify a common measure statewide of children’s readiness by kindergarten.
Massachusetts-based early education policy and advocacy group, Strategies for Children, praised the plan saying, “Governor Patrick’s budget recommendation presents Massachusetts with the opportunity to solidify its standing as a national leader in education and close the achievement gap by targeting investments where research clearly shows they have the most impact: early childhood. The governor’s plan recognizes the importance of the critical third grade reading benchmark in predicting a child’s chances of future success and recognizes that learning begins at birth.”
For complete details on Governor Patrick’s plan and budget recommendations, visit Eye on Early Education here.