by Chelsea Nelson
Digital Marketing Director
We invite you to check out these wonderful personal stories from members of our community who believe that high-quality preschool can change the odds for kids! Do you have a personal story about preschool that you want to share? Make your voice heard – share your story with us and support HB96!
“I have a grandchild that is in desperate need of a preschool option that will enable him to get on track with his peers. It is devastating for a small child that falls behind to see their friends move forward and it is also devastating for the parents who watch their children fall behind—even though they are trying their best to help and contribute to their child’s education. The educational foundation established for a child will make a monumental change in a successful future. They are just children and it is up to us to ensure their future. Education gives children not only an academic advantage, but it also gives them self-confidence and self-esteem – earning them the power to also be an example for change in the lives of others.”
–Jodie McGaha, North Salt Lake
“For the past five years, I have been working with a low-income, single mom of six kids. It is so sad to see how far behind the kids are in school and how much they would have benefited from a high-quality preschool program. In this family, the oldest is in prison, the 19-year old never graduated, the16-year old is doing make-up school packets and likely won’t get his high school diploma. The youngest three boys are in school, but given their lack of opportunity to change their situation, I expect it is only a matter of time before they get so far behind that they also give up. The mom is hard-working and doing her best, but she has to work just to put food on the table — there is never enough time to help kids with school work.”
–Kimberly Pilger, Salt Lake City
“As a reading tutor in the public school system, I support HB96. I feel that we need to do all that is possible to better prepare at-risk children for kindergarten. There are many excellent preschools that do this, but there are many kids who could benefit greatly and just don’t get the early education and support needed. Every day, I see many children that quickly lag behind because they lack basic skills upon entering kindergarten. By third grade, it’s become a huge problem for the student, the teachers, and the other kids in the class suffer because teachers spend so much time helping kids catch up.”
–Karen Hynek, Alpine
Do you have questions about how the Utah School Readiness Initiative (HB96) will be funded, which preschool programs it will fund, and who can opt-in to programs?
View our “How HB96 Works” diagram that shows you, step-by-step, how this bill will be implemented if it passes through the Utah State Legislation this session!
How can you help advocate for high-quality preschool?
Take the pledge and let your legislators know you support HB96!
