The Commonwealth of Virginia has adopted the goal that all children enter kindergarten healthy and ready to succeed in school.  VAECE believes that access to high quality early childhood education will help the Commonwealth to meet that goal.  Universal Pre-Kindergarten programs will benefit the Commonwealth by:

• Taking advantage of the opportunities for development that are present in a child’s first five years. Research indicates that 85% of a child’s brain growth occurs during those first five years.  
• Ensuring that children who have working parents receive the highest quality educational opportunity in every early childhood program.  In Virginia, 62% of children from all socio-economic levels have parents who work.
• Preparing children for success  in school, a critical first step in preparing skilled workers to fuel the state’s knowledge economy.   Research on UPK programs in other states indicates that children who participate in these programs have greater gains in vocabulary, math, language and social skills than children who do not have this opportunity.
• Ensuring that our future workforce is able to compete nationally or in the global marketplace.  Children who start behind often stay behind.  Virginia’s knowledge economy will require skilled workers.

VAECE Recommends That:  Standards for UPK should be based on well-established knowledge of how children learn.  All UPK programs would be required to meet the same quality standards. UPK programs should emphasize the full development of the child.  This includes recognizing the importance of play for young children and nurturing children’s innate disposition to learn. Instruction in UPK programs should include time for child-initiated learning and other appropriate instructional strategies. Intense academic instruction is not appropriate for pre-kindergarten programs. Programs that provide UPK should include both public schools and licensed child care facilities.   Funding should be equal at all sites, regardless of the whether the program is public or private. A Commonwealth UPK program should be funded to serve all 4-year-old children in Virginia. UPK should take into consideration the eligibility criteria of other programs (VPI, Head Start and other subsidized programs) to ensure that duplication and overlap does not occur. A public information campaign should be designed to enlist the participation of child care providers regarding the potential benefits of UPK to their programs, children and families.