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State Profiles
Oregon
Oregon's advocates and lawmakers are rapidly gaining momentum in their efforts to offer quality pre-k to more of the state's most at-risk children. The Oregon Head Start Prekindergarten (OPK) program was established in 1987 as the state counterpart to the federal Head Start program. The state's Department of Education and the regional Head Start office govern the program collaboratively. OPK adheres to federal Head Start Performance Standards and fulfills seven out of 10 NIEER quality benchmarks. Although in 1991 the legislature pledged to expand the program to reach all eligible children, this goal has not been reached, and funding for the program has remained relatively flat for the last half decade. Current funding levels only enable the joint federal-state program to serve 60 percent of three and four year olds living in poverty.
Strong leadership from the Ready for School campaign elevated pre-k as a leading issue in the 2006 gubernatorial campaign. Candidates from both major parties endorsed full funding for Oregon Head Start Prekindergarten, and Governor Ted Kulongoski, who was re-elected in November, has pledged to fulfill this campaign promise in the next biennial budget. Governor Kulongoski has also expressed his intention to bring high-quality pre-k to all of Oregon's children.
Key Milestones
| 1987 |
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Oregon Head Start Prekindergarten is established to serve every three and four year old whose family income is below 100 percent of the federal poverty threshold. State funding is granted to all federal Head Start programs in the state as well as private and community providers and schools that meet the program requirements. |
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| 1991 |
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Senate Bill 110 establishes the policy goal of fully funding Oregon Head Start Prekindergarten by 1997, a goal that has yet to be achieved. |
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| 2004 |
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The Ready for School campaign brings together business, philanthropic, and civic leaders to champion early childhood education in Oregon. The campaign aims to raise awareness about the need for voluntary, high-quality pre-k for all children and to advocate for full funding of the OPK program. |
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| 2006 |
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Governor Ted Kulongoski pledges to fully fund OPK in the 2007-09 biennium budget. |
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| 2007 |
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Legislators appropriated an increase of $14 million in for FY08 and an additional $11.8 million for FY09 for a total budget of $53.8 million. These increases will allow the OPK program to serve an additional 3200 three and four year olds, or all eligible children in the state. |
Pre-K Champions
Richard C. Alexander is founder of Viking Industries and chair of the Ready for School campaign. As campaign chair, Alexander has been instrumental in making the case to business leaders that pre-k is critical for economic development as well as school readiness.
The Children's Institute is a research- and action-based organization dedicated to educating the public about the importance of early childhood education, identifying programs and practices which will most benefit Oregon's at-risk children, and developing an Oregon Children's Budget.
Stand for Children provides a grassroots network of support for children's services, including healthcare, after-school opportunities, and school readiness initiatives. State and local chapters operate in Massachusetts, Oregon, and Tennessee and are led by national leadership in Portland, Oregon.
Governor Ted Kulongoski is providing essential leadership to fully fund OPK as part of his Education Enterprise program, which includes a commitment to small class sizes, increased funding for public schools, and professional development for teachers.
Dell Ford is a long-time early childhood educator currently serving as director of the Oregon Head Start-State Collaboration Office, coordinating the Oregon Head Start Prekindergarten and federal Head Start funding streams. Ford was president of the Oregon Head Start Association when OPK was founded.
Ronnie Herndon serves as director of Portland, Oregon's Albina Head Start program, as well as chairman of the board of the National Head Start Association. Herndon advocates for increased funding for federal Head Start programs and has forged important collaborative ties with business leaders across the state.
Next steps for Oregon
Advocates will work with key policymakers to increase eligibility of OPK to all children living at 130 percent of federal poverty guidelines or below and to require at least half of the pre-k teachers to hold bachelor's degrees.
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