Pre-K Pilot Counties Meet With State Officials For First Time

The five counties in Indiana’s preschool pilot program met together face-to-face with state officials for the first time Wednesday as they prepare to begin implementation. 

In July, the state chose Allen, Jackson, Lake, Marion and Vanderburgh counties to implement a state-funded pre-k pilot.  There are more than 15,000 children in the five counties eligible for the program, and more than 10,000 of those are considered unserved, meaning they’re not receiving federally funded early childhood education. 

Gov. Mike Pence says four of the counties are prepared to begin at least partial implementation on Jan. 1, while Jackson County will need a little longer. Pence says there’s a great deal of urgency.

“First and foremost to help the kids that we can help but secondly, I want to get this program moving so that we can begin to learn from these programs, learn what will be the most effective way to go forward,” he said.

Pence says the learning process will take years, not months.

“Indiana’s going to be studying these programs, studying the impact these programs are having on our kids, on their educational outcomes, and then we’ll be making policy decisions about any additional programs in the future on that basis,” he said. 

Pence says he will adhere to his agreement with the legislature not to seek an expansion of pre-k next session.