Montana superintendents support early education

As leaders from school districts across Montana, we are writing to offer enthusiastic support for Gov. Steve Bullock’s Early Edge initiative, which would provide voluntary, high-quality early childhood education to all Montana kids. We encourage lawmakers in Helena to work together to strengthen education for the youngest Montanans who represent our state’s bright future.

Montana is one of only eight states without universal pre-kindergarten, and it’s time we caught up with other states by investing in the future of our young people through this important initiative. While ultimately, parents remain children’s first and best teachers, not all kids have parents with the time or resources to provide language-rich environments needed for healthy brain development, 90 percent of which occurs by age 5.

***

Early Edge is fiscally smart

Every dollar spent on Early Edge yields $7 to $9 in savings down the road because quality pre-K means students arrive at kindergarten ready to learn, more likely to read at grade level and to finish high school. That translates into our schools being better able to shape responsible citizens who earn better wages, are less likely to find themselves in trouble with the law, and who contribute more to our tax base. Investing in Early Edge will also help Montana develop more skilled workers for the future, and help Main Street businesses retain employees and attract new businesses to our communities.

***

How districts opt in

Here’s how the voluntary Early Edge initiative would work: Individual school districts like ours would be able to choose whether or not the program is a good fit, just like individual parents can choose whether or not to enroll their children. When a local district decides to opt in, they can obtain block grants from the Office of Public Instruction. The funding can be used in partnership with existing high-quality programs, including Head Start or private providers.

***

What it means for teachers

Montana currently has 333 teachers with an Early Childhood Special Permissive Competency on their license, meaning these teachers will be able to teach preschool for three years before earning an Early Grades Endorsement, an additional four to eight credits. Teachers who need extra time to meet these requirements will be able to obtain a provisional license, meaning they can teach while working on the endorsement credits.

We’re heartened that the Montana University System will prioritize early childhood education and child development courses as part of Early Edge to make this as easy as possible for teachers. Options under consideration include intensive summer school offerings with courses in blocks of two to five weeks as well as online courses.

***

Long-term investment needed

While we unequivocally support Gov. Bullock’s proposal, we caution lawmakers to remember that Early Edge done right means it needs to remain a priority long-term, and not just for the two years specified in the current initiative. Local districts too need resources to ensure their facilities are up to date and able to provide the space our youngest students need to learn and grow.

If you agree that Early Edge is a smart investment in Montana’s economic and educational future, please visit earlyedgeaction.org and contact your legislators to urge them to support this essential initiative.

This opinion is signed by
Dr. Alex Apostle, superintendent of Missoula County Public Schools,

and co-signed by

Terry Bouck, superintendent of Billings Public Schools;

Mark Flatau, superintendent of Kalispell Public Schools District 5;

Erin Lipkind, Missoula County superintendent;

Dr. Kent Kultgen, superintendent of Helena Public Schools;

Rob Watson, superintendent of Bozeman Public Schools;

Tammy Lacey, superintendent of Great Falls Public Schools;

Judy Jonart, superintendent of Butte Public Schools.