The Texas Education Agency (TEA) on March 28 released results of a comprehensive study to gain a clearer understanding of the impact of the High-Quality Prekindergarten grants on 10 school districts and charter schools that received the grant funding.
Overall, the study found that the grants had a significant impact on prekindergarten programs and a majority of grantees reported a need for continued funding in order to fully implement high-quality prekindergarten, increase kindergarten readiness and continuously improve their prekindergarten programs.
Among the key findings:
- All of the grantees reported that they used grant funds to support new initiatives to help parents become more knowledgeable about their prekindergarten child’s learning and how they can support academic growth at home.
- Although the grantees used some of the funding to provide new resources for prekindergarten classrooms, the grant gave districts and charters the funding needed to make a significant investment in their teachers; and
- Grantees had the ability to prioritize funding based on the unique needs of the teachers and children in their communities.
To review the complete report, visit the Texas Education Agency website at http://tea.texas.gov/earlychildhoodeducation.aspx.