Georgia’s pre-kindergarten students have friends in high places who are advocating for their academic well being.
Tuesday, retired Army Major Generals Robert C. Hughes, Jr. and Ronald L. Johnson stopped by Kicklighter Academy Preschool in Savannah to read “The Rainbow Fish” to youngsters and push for increased state and federal investment in high-quality preschool programs.
The best way to start, they said, is with President Barack Obama’s proposal for a federal-state preschool partnership.
Some 33 percent of Georgians do not graduate on time, and 25 percent of Georgia graduates don’t score high enough on the Armed Forces Qualification Test to join the Army, according to the generals. Nationally 75 percent of Americans between the age of 17 and 24 are ineligible for military service because of academic deficiencies, obesity or serious criminal convictions.
“That’s a national security issue,” Hughes said.
Their organization, Mission: Readiness, is a nonpartisan national security organization of retired generals and admirals that advocates for smart investments in America’s children to help increase the number of young people who are prepared for military service.
Tuesday, they presented a statistical report called, “A Commitment to Pre-Kindergarten is a Commitment to National Security.” It includes research that indicates that students who participate in high-quality pre-kindergarten programs have higher math and literacy outcomes and are less likely to require special education services, to be held back, drop out or engage in criminal activity.
via Georgia Major generals push for pre-K program support | savannahnow.com.
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