October 6, 2015 1:49 PM

Education Agency staff rolls out details on high-quality pre-k grants

A big job ahead for TEA staff: Turn about $118 million in grants into significant improvements in pre-kindergarten performance across Texas without putting a significant strain on school district budgets

Gov. Greg Abbott’s education agenda does hold some real cachet in education circles, as evidenced at the TASA/TASB annual conference in Austin, where sessions on issues such as high quality pre-kindergarten grants have been prefaced as “a priority of the governor’s office.”

Abbott’s support of early education drew some ire from the far right during the legislative session, but early childhood advocates appeared to welcome the grant program during a session led by Texas Education Agency staff.

Coordinator Howard Morrison** and his staff have a yeoman’s task ahead: Turn about $118 million in grants into significant improvements in pre-kindergarten performance across Texas without putting a significant strain on school district budgets. That means leveraging as many current resources as possible.

By Kimberly Reeves