Wendy Davis education plank promotes access to Pre-K and early reading.
State Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, has unveiled her third of four education planks in her run for governor. Find the in-depth presentation from her campaign here.
She proposes to ensure Pre-K access and “promote early childhood reading.”
The 2012 Texas GOP platform states:
“We believe that parents are best suited to train their children in their early development and oppose mandatory pre-school and Kindergarten. We urge Congress to repeal government- sponsored programs that deal with early childhood development.”
The release from the Davis campaign is below:
Houston, TX: Senator Wendy Davis today released “Great Start: Great Texas,” which focuses on early childhood education at the Pre-K level. It is the third part, in a series of four, of her comprehensive education reform proposals.
“We know that every dollar invested in Pre-K programs can return up to $16 in dividends,” said Davis at the Baker – Ripley Promise Community School in Houston where she laid out her plan. “Yet in Texas, nearly seven in ten low-income students are not enrolled in Pre-K, and the state only funds three hours a day. It doesn’t take a financial genius like Warren Buffett to know that this is an investment worth making.”
“Great Start: Great Texas” contains two common sense reforms:
Ensure that every eligible Texas child has access to quality, full-day Pre-K.
Promote early-childhood reading so that every child is reading at grade-level by 3rd-grade.
Earlier this month, Senator Davis laid out the first two parts of her comprehensive education reform proposals. “Great Teachers: Great Texas” focused on retention and recruiting the next generation of teachers. “Great Pathways: Great Texas” addressed increasing college-preparedness opportunities for Texas high school students.
“With the right leadership in Austin, we can set the right priorities,” Davis said. “That’s why I’m running for Governor. We must have new leadership that is focused on retaining and recruiting the next generation of great teachers. We need new leadership that advocates expanding access to higher education for high school students. And, we need new leadership that tirelessly promotes Pre-K and early childhood education so that Texas children are on the right path from the get go.”