ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - New Mexico will pump in an additional $10 million into the state pre-K program for the next school year, bringing the program to 11 school districts for the first time.
The state Public Education Department announced the additional funding Thursday, opening up more than 1,500 additional pre-K spots to potentially serve about 6,800 students statewide.
With the funding boost, the pre-K program is getting $33.6 million for the next school year. The pre-K program will be present in 65 school districts and six state charters, according to the department.
The pre-K system consists of half- and full-day programs for 4-year-olds. Some programs are part of an elementary school and others are housed in separate facilities.
Carlsbad Municipal Schools is among the 11 new districts launching the pre-K program. Carlsbad Superintendent Greg Rodriguez said the new investment into pre-K will give children a head start that aims to eventually increase graduation rates, the Albuquerque Journal reported .
The Carlsbad school district will hire four new teachers and four education assistants for the program, which is expected to serve 350 students next year, Rodriguez said.
Clovis Municipal Schools is also launching a pre-K for the first time and will receive $950,000 from the state. Clovis Superintendent Jody Balch told The Eastern New Mexico News that the district aims to employ multiple pre-K sites, but the schools that will be utilized have not been determined.
State Education Secretary-designate Christopher Ruszkowski said expanding pre-K gives students more time in the classroom with teachers. He noted that the program in Clovis will provide more than 100 hours of additional instruction time for 300 students.
“We need to do two things for our kids’ big picture: we need to increase the amount of instruction time and improve the quality of instruction,” Ruszkowski said.
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