GOVERNOR SIGNS BILL GIVING BOOST TO PRESCHOOL $50 MILLION INTENDED TO CLOSE `ACHIEVEMENT GAP'.Byline: STEVE GEISSINGER Sacramento Bureau SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (German pronunciation (IPA): [ˈaɐ̯nɔlt ˈaloɪ̯s ˈʃvaɐ̯ʦənˌʔɛɡɐ] signed a bill Thursday that will provide $50 million to expand preschool programs at California's lowest-performing campuses, many of them in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . The governor said the money will allow 17,000 additional children in the state's poorest school districts to attend publicly subsidized preschools. It is part of a three-year initiative designed to close the ``achievement gap'' between poor and minority students and their classmates Classmates can refer to either:
``Preschool gives our kids the strong foundation they need to be successful in school and in life,'' Schwarzenegger said during a signing ceremony A signing ceremony is a ceremony in which a bill passed by a legislature is signed (approved) by an executive, thus becoming a law. Modern-day signing ceremonies are derived from ceremonies that occurred when the British monarch gave Royal Assent to acts of Parliament. at the Para Los Ninos Vermont Child Development Center in South Los Angeles South Los Angeles is the official name for a large geographic and cultural area lying to the southwest and southeast of downtown Los Angeles, California. The area was formerly called South Central Los Angeles, and is still sometimes called South Central. . Assembly Bill 172, authored by Assemblywoman Wilma Chan Wilma Chan is a politician in California, United States. Chan served as the California Assembly Majority Leader from 2002-2004, the first woman and the first Asian American to hold the position. She also served as Assembly Majority Whip from 2001-2002. Chan is a Democrat. , authorizes spending $50 million to hire more teachers and improve staff training, as well as build literacy and outreach programs aimed at encouraging parents to read to their kids and engage in their children's early education. AB 172 requires state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell
Jack T. O'Connell (born October 8, 1951) is a California politician. to evaluate preschool and family literacy programs to ensure funds are well spent. ``This will provide preschool experience to many more children in our most challenged schools,'' O'Connell said. The $50 million allocation is in addition to another $50 million in the current budget to improve preschool facilities operated by local school districts and nonprofit organizations. AB 172 increases the state's total preschool budget from $350 million to about $400 million. Administration officials said the overall budget initiative will help move California toward funding preschool for every 4-year-old living in the attendance area of a low-performing school, defined as in the bottom 30 percent of California's academic performance index. Numerous studies have tied developmental and educational benefits to preschool attendance, including a higher rate of high school graduation. steve.geissinger(at)angnewspapers.com (916) 447-9302 |
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