Legal Aid Justice Center, in collaboration with Smart Beginnings Hopewell-Prince George, Southside Alliance for Children & Families, and Southern Initiative Algebra Project hosted a Tri-Cities Pre-K Summit last week in Petersburg. The summit brought together parents, educators, elected officials, and service providers in the Tri-Cities area to foster a regional collaboration effort to ensure school readiness for all at-risk children. The evening featured a panel and lively discussion focused on the successes and challenges of expanding preschool services to the region.

1. Pre-K Summit
Collaborating on Quality
Education for Preschool Students
in the Tri-Cities Area
October 4, 2012 | 5pm |Tabernacle Baptist Church
418 Halifax St. Petersburg, VA

2. Our Purpose
Working to ensure school
readiness for all at-risk children
in the Tri-Cities Area.

3. The Need
At least 50% of VPI funding is provided by state
funds, with the rest covered by localities. In the
Tri-Cities area, localities pay an average of 35% of
the cost of VPI for FY 2013 and FY 2014.
However, many localities do not serve all
children who qualify for VPI.

4. The Need
Charles
City, Hopewell, and Surry
used 100% of their VPI
slots in FY 2012.

5. The Need
Petersburg and Prince
George used more than
three quarters of their
slots.

6. The Need
Dinwiddie used just over
half its slots. Colonial
Heights served 30%.

7. The Need
Chesterfield served 17%
of the 663 children
eligible for VPI.

8. The Need
Sussex does not currently
offer a VPI program for its
7 eligible children.

9. The Benefit
A 2007 JLARC report, “Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI):
Current Implementation and Potential Changes,” describes the
measurable, significant benefits of VPI:
•Students in VPI classrooms performed approximately 21
percentage points better on the PALS-Pre-K than students who
did not attend preschool.
•Using the PALS-K, students who attended VPI were identified as
needing further assistance at a lower rate than students who did
not attend a preschool program.

10. The Benefit
•VPI graduates performed 6.7 points higher
on the PALS-K than their predicted score (a
prediction of what they would have scored
without attending a preschool program).
•Students who attended any publicly funded
preschool program performed better on third
grade SOLs than other economically-
disadvantaged students.

11. The Benefit
“High-quality pre-kindergarten programs have
positive effects on children’s school readiness,
leveling the playing field by preventing
disadvantaged children from lagging behind more
advantaged children in kindergarten and later
school years.”*
*All quotes on this and following slides are taken from the Smart Beginnings Greater
Richmond booklet, “Early childhood development directly affects economic vitality. We can
tell you how . . . ” The original source will be cited on each individual slide.
Mead, S. (2004). National Pre-K strategy unveiled. Washington, D.C.: Progressive
Policy Institute. www.ppionline.org/documents/prek_0904.pdf.

12. The Benefit
“A good preschool can offer a
12% annual return after
inflation.”
Rolnick, A., and R. Grunewalk, 2003. Early childhood development:
economic development with a high public return. FedGazette.

13. The Benefit
“For every dollar invested in
early childhood development
programs, there is a $7-$8 public
return.”
Beckstrom, M. 2003. „Invest in kids‟ taken literally, Saint Paul Pioneer
Press, October 24, city edition.

14. The Benefit
“At-risk children who [do] not attend
quality early childhood education
programs [are] 70% more likely to be
arrested for violent crime by age 18.”
Newman, S., Brazelton, T.B., Zigler, E., Sherman, L., Bratton, W.,
Sanders, J., Christenson, W. 2000. America’s Child Care Crisis: A Crime
Prevention Tragedy. Washington, DC: Fight Crime: Invest in Kids.

15. The Take-Away
Quality early childhood education is
essential to the success of our
community. Let‟s make sure all of
our most at-risk children can
benefit from it.
Pre-K Works!