National Institute for Early Education Research

Alabama leads the nation in ensuring quality while expanding program access.

Auburn University’s Government and Economics Institute recently released its Alabama Issues 2018 report, which focused largely on Alabama’s esteemed pre-K program. Two articles featured in the report suggest the state should continue expanding the program while maintaining the program’s quality. “Though the State continues to increase funding to provide more classrooms and reach more children, … Continued

When I was growing up, kids didn’t start learning the alphabet until they began kindergarten. Today, kids are expected to be able to write their names and read at least some words before they even begin kindergarten. The expectations are higher, and starting off behind everyone else in their class can leave a kid feeling … Continued

Wednesday, April 18 Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey celebrated the announcement that for the 12th year in a row, Alabama’s First Class Pre-K program has been named as one of the nation’s highest quality state-funded pre-kindergarten programs for 4-year-olds. This report was released by the National Institute for Early Education Research in its 2017 State of … Continued

By Minority Leader Rep. Craig Ford Gov. Bentley made headlines a few weeks ago when he told an audience at a public forum that our public school system “sucks.” But Gov. Bentley is wrong about our public school system. Alabama’s high school graduation rate rose 18 percent between 2011 and 2015. Today, 89.3 percent of … Continued

By Minority Leader Craig Ford These days, it’s easy to think nothing good ever comes out of our government – especially here in Alabama! But for all the bad you hear about, there are a lot of great things going on in our state and in our public schools. A perfect example is Alabama’s pre-k … Continued