Indiana can make high-quality pre-kindergarten education available to all Hoosier children in the year prior to their entering kindergarten. Federal and private funding can be leveraged to pay well-trained teachers who can prepare children for a year that often sets the course for a lifetime of learning.– From the Indiana Bicentennial Visioning Project
Indiana lawmakers look at the future in terms of the next two or four years, depending on when they will next face voters. When Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann and former congressman Lee Hamilton two years ago asked 114 Hoosiers to develop a vision for Indiana’s next 100 years, they came away with bold ideas promising long-term benefits. Not surprisingly, the five recommendations on education and career development call for quality preschool available to all Indiana 4-year-olds.
Tom Smith, a former Fort Wayne city councilman who participated in the Indiana Bicentennial Visioning Project, said the pre-K recommendation emerged as the No. 1 priority when participants were asked to identify the best from dozens of ideas on governance, the environment, public safety, the arts and more.
“When you totaled up the marks on the recommendations, education and preschool were at the top,” Smith said. “Preschool, in my opinion, was the No. 1 of all the recommendations – all of which were good. But there were more votes for pre-K than anything. It was identified as probably the most important thing the state could do.”
The Visioning Project participants – community leaders from across the state – recognize a stronger Indiana demands that all young Hoosiers get a strong start on learning. They realize the long-term investment, supported by extensive research, is critical to the state’s overall economic well-being.