Tennessee Governor Touts Imagination Library, Pre-K Classes During Tri-Cities Visit

GRAY, Tenn. – Gov. Phil Bredesen stopped by the Gray Public Library on Wednesday to read “The Little Engine That Could” and two other stories to a group of Washington County prekindergarten students.

The event was part of a trip Bredesen made to tout the Imagination Library program during the third annual Imagination Library Week in Tennessee. Founded by Dolly Parton in 1996, the program has given more than 331,000 free books to 18,000 children in Carter, Sullivan and Washington counties in Northeast Tennessee.

“This program is important because having books in the home really is a signpost to show how a kid can do well in school,” Bredesen said after the reading, adding that studies have proven the program helps students succeed in school.

He then talked briefly about the state’s voluntary prekindergarten program, another early childhood education initiative that he has pushed.

“Certainly, one of the legacies I’d love to leave behind is a good and strong [pre-k] program in Tennessee,” said Bredesen, who has championed expansions in the program over the past three years. “I feel very good about [the program’s] results so far. Kindergarten teachers are crazy about it.”

Early childhood classes are offered in all but three of the state’s 136 school systems. The pre-k program is offered through 934 state-funded classes that serve more than 18,000 students.

In Bristol, Tenn., the public school system offers seven pre-k classes that serve 132 students at its five elementary schools, said Debbie Darnell, the school system’s early childhood coordinator.

But Darnell said that number may be cut next year when a grant that pays for three of the program’s classes runs out. She spoke of the program’s merits on Wednesday and her hopes to keep it going next year.

“When [pre-k students] go to kindergarten they have a little bit of an advantage,” Darnell said, adding that the city’s pre-k classes use the same curriculum offered in kindergarten and first grade.

She said the program helps students who may have a speech problem or developmental disorder because it gives educators an extra year to work with them. The program also helps parents gain a sense of familiarity with the school system, which can lead to them being more involved in their child’s education, she added.

Without the state-funded classes, Darnell said many families may not be able to give their children any type of pre-k instruction because private programs can cost as much as $250 per month.

Each class serves 20 students and costs about $103,000 per year. Darnell said four of Bristol’s classes are paid for through the state’s voluntary program, which Bredesen started in 2005. The remaining classes are covered by an $8 million grant the school system received in 2004.

This grant, she said, is set to expire at the end of the current school year. For the moment, Darnell said she’s hoping the state government will be able give the program more money so all seven classes can continue.

“It’s possible,” Darnell said of the chances of getting the extra funding from the state during a tight budget year. “But it doesn’t look good right now.”

She may be right. Bredesen set out to give the program another $25 million during this budget year, but couldn’t because of the tight economy. The governor did, however, manage to secure a $3 million increase to deal with rising costs.

Bredesen said on Wednesday that he’d love to expand the program next year, but he wasn’t sure if the money can be found.

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