EXCERPT FROM: Chronicle
By Jennifer Radcliffe
Nearly a dozen publishers are trying to win the state's approval to offer updated classroom materials for pre-kindergartners — another effort to increase the quality of education for Texas' youngest students.
The $48.5 million textbook adoption — which includes everything from puppets to workbooks for 4-year-olds — will be the first material update in nearly a decade.
A state review panel will meet this summer to select new materials by November. They'll be in classrooms for the 2011-12 school year.
“It seems like there's a new focus on pre-K from the state level,” said Debra Anderson, an early-childhood consultant with the Harris County Department of Education, which hosted a fair to display some of the potential new materials in April.
A record 214,694 Texas students are enrolled this year in pre-kindergarten, which is free to all students from low-income families or who are learning English as a second language. Research conducted by Texas A&M University a few years ago shows that every dollar invested in high-quality early-education programs yields at least a $3.50 return on the investment.
Texas' new voluntary guidelines, adopted in 2008, expand expectations for Texas pre-kindergartners to include skills such as counting to 30 and naming 20 letters .
“These materials are heavily geared toward literacy and early language,” said Sandra Sandoval, a program director for Galena Park ISD.
Growing emphasis
The increased interest from publishers signals the growing national emphasis on early education. Texas' new standards cover social development, math, science, social studies, fine arts, physical development and technology.