Central Maine – Ben Gilman
“This support comes at a time of an unprecedented wave of bipartisan energy behind early education. In the last three years, 32 governors have created or expanded prekindergarten programs in their respective states. This includes a nearly even split of Republicans and Democrats. In recent years, Maine’s public pre-K programs also have experienced steady growth. Ten years ago, just 83 public schools offered pre-K. By the 2013-2014 school year, public pre-K was offered in 201 schools, as well as in 63 additional programs that are partnerships with local community child care providers, Head Start providers or both. The number of students enrolled in public pre-K has grown from 2,589 in 2007-2008 to 4,549 in 2012-2013. In large part because of funding from a federal grant, the Maine Department of Education reports that an additional 44 pre-K classrooms will be added across Maine next school year. But even with this growth, public pre-K will serve less than half of Maine’s youngest learners. While more progress is needed, Maine is moving in the right direction. Business leaders have helped spur this momentum in Maine and the nation. And nowhere was this support more evident than at the 2015 ReadyNation Global Business Summit, an event I attended earlier this month.”(more)