MEMPHIS/SHELBY COUNTY PRE-K Our Pre-K Goal: Every child that is eligible for Pre-K has access to a high-quality Pre-K seat. Currently, more 4 year olds have access to Pre-K in Memphis/Shelby County than ever before—7,420—just 1080 seats short of our goal of 8500. What’s at Stake? Across Memphis/Shelby County, Pre-K is funded by a mix of federal, state, and local dollars. In 2019, the Preschool Development Grant (PDG) will end, cutting off an annual flow of roughly $8 million federal dollars. Absent identifying new sources of funding, the number of Pre-K seats in the area will not only drop from roughly 7420 to 6340 seats, but Memphis/Shelby County will fall further behind its ultimate goal of nearly 8500 Pre-K seats. Given this scenario, and the value Pre-K adds to students and families, there is an imperative to identify new funding mechanisms that both sustain and expand the existing Pre-K infrastructure in Memphis/Shelby County. Why Pre-K Matters: • • • • National data show that children attending a diverse array of state and school district pre-k programs are more ready for school at the end of their pre-k year than children who do not attend pre-k. Students most commonly show improvements in academic areas such as literacy and numeracy. National Data also show that Pre-K provides greater improvement in learning, at the end of the pre-k year, especially for economically disadvantaged children and dual language learners. Local data show that students who attend Pre-K in Memphis/Shelby County outperform students who did not attend Pre-K by 10% on the NWEA MAP assessment, a nationally normed assessment given to every ASD and SCS student 3 times a year to measure academic progress. 49% of Memphis/Shelby County Pre-K students outperform the national average on the NWEA MAP assessment. Current Funding Landscape in Memphis/Shelby County: • • • • • 2015-19 Federal Preschool Development Grant (65 classrooms - $33,541,012/$7,500,000 annually) Federal Head Start Grant (160 classrooms - $23,061,352 recurring) State Voluntary TN Pre-K Grant (126 classrooms - $11,617,108 recurring) Shelby County Commission Investments (20 classrooms - $3,000,000 recurring) 2017-18 SCS District Investments (15 classrooms - 2,400,000 nonrecurring) Current Pre-K Needs: • • • Maintain current Pre-K offerings in Memphis/Shelby County, by replacing the $8,000,000 PDG Grant expiring in 2019. This would allow 50 existing classrooms/ 1000 seats to remain available to children and families. Expand by 54 additional classrooms/ 1, 080 seats at $160,000 per classroom. This would cost roughly $8,600,000, and enable Memphis/Shelby County ty to serve 8,500 4 year olds. Sustain $16,600,000 in annual investments after 2019 to support expanded Pre-K services. What City Leaders Can Do? While there are a variety of policy options available to city leaders, one of the most sustainable funding mechanisms is a tax increase with dedicated revenue for Pre-K. By passing a small increase to the Hotel/Motel tax, for example, the City of Memphis could generate new revenue to expand and sustain Pre-K in Memphis/Shelby County. Cities such as Denver, CO; San Antonio, TX; and Cincinnati, OH are already generating local tax dollars to provide Pre-K where federal and state funds do not go far enough. Through innovative partnerships with private and non-profit actors, these cities are stepping up to serve some of their most vulnerable children and families. We encourage the City of Memphis to join their ranks!