November Theatre
November 5, 2007
Daniel Rodrigue, Sr.
November 7, 2007(AP) Louisiana’s public school program for 4-year-olds wins praise in a new report by the Southern Regional Education Board, but the report also makes clear that the program lags behind other Southern states in some areas.
The SREB, which tracks education trends in Louisiana and 15 other states, released the report Tuesday.
The state’s key program for 4-year-olds is called LA4, which generally covers children from poor families. Louisiana began the classes in 2002.
Classes operate for up to 10 hours per day, including four optional hours of what educators call pre- and post-school enrichment programs.
Enrollment in state-funded classes rose 17 percent in Louisiana between 2002-2006, tops in the region and well ahead of the 5 percent average gain nationally.
In addition, LA4 classes met eight of 10 standards of quality set by the National Institute for Early Education Research that are similar to those recommended by the education board.
However, the report says that just 22 percent of 4-year-olds are enrolled in state-funded pre-kindergarten classes, or about 14,000 students.
That is ninth among 15 states in the region that offer them. Mississippi does not.
“Clearly, Georgia and Oklahoma stand out as really trailblazers,” said Joan Lord, vice president for education policies for the education board.
Seventy percent of 4-year-olds are enrolled in state-funded classes in Oklahoma, which is tops in the nation and also gets high marks for quality.
More than half of the 4-year-olds in Georgia are enrolled in state-financed classes.
