Authored By Alina Hunter-Grah

Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke recently toured the Avondale Head Start Center to highlight his plan to build 1,000 new high-quality early learning enrollment slots by 2021 that will strengthen the city for future generations. Berke said that building up these slots will not only strengthen the future workforce but will help parents relax and provide job stability for local teachers. "A lot of people think of early learning as an investment in the future, but it's also an investment now," he said. Here's the background. With a limited amount of enrollment slots in early education currently available for toddlers, this initiative aims to expand those resources for children and their parents. To be considered a "high-quality slot," the child care facility must meet the state's Star Quality program's highest rating. Creating these slots is part of an effort to boost children's school performance. In January, a state report card showed that less than 33 percent of county elementary, middle and high school students were reading at grade level. The mayor said that intervening early in a child's education could help these numbers eventually improve. If children come into kindergarten with lesser knowledge than their peers, it can be difficult for the students and teachers. "[It's] a hard deficit for any teacher or school to make up," Berke said. "The more slots there are, the more they're exposed and the more they're kindergarten ready." What's the plan? Berke said that initiative doesn't mean building new schools, it involves reinforcing the programs that already exist. "We're going to work with churches and businesses and get new classrooms up and running or take places that may not have early learning and give them teachers," Berke said. "If you currently have 15 kids and we think you can get to 30, [we're going to think about] how can we help you get there." The city is also planning to fortify teachers by increasing wages and providing more certification and education opportunities for them. "[It's] about helping teachers improve their level of expertise so they can be more effective in the classroom," Berke said. Alina Hunter-Grah is a contributing writer. She is a graduate of The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where she received a bachelor’s degree in communication with a minor in political science. Alina has over three years of journalism experience including time spent with CNN and 2nd & Church, a magazine based in Nashville, Tennessee. You can reach Alina at ahuntergrah@gmail.com or on Twitter @alinahuntergrah.