Virginia Governor Ralph Northam is hoping to get his hands on new funding streams for early childhood education.
It’s almost snack time here at the new Campagna Early Learning Center in northern Virginia, which just opened last September. So far, this morning has been spent with stacks and stacks of Legos.
CEO Tammy Mann says this is a great way to develop creative thinking skills.
"Building, taking things apart, figuring out how things fit together," she says. "Concepts that are thought to relate to early sort of STEM skills, so they are now getting ready for snack.”
The classroom recently had a special guest for snack time: Governor Ralph Northam. He toured the early childhood education center shortly after signing an executive directive creating a new school readiness effort. The governor says the new executive leadership team is an effort to address disparities in access and quality:
“Early childhood education is important. It’s really the foundation of education," Northam explained. "We talk a lot about our economy and workforce development. But it really starts before children ever get to kindergarten. So we want to make sure all children in Virginia have that opportunity.”
Northam has a few potential sources in mind: Programs like Head Start, Early Head Start, the Virginia Preschool Initiative and the Child Development Block Grant to name a few.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
