They weren’t voting on the issues, but the pre-K and kindergarten students at Gardendale Elementary School were making their voices heard.

San Antonio has built a thriving city that works for all – and it started with a commitment to its youngest.

For eight years Pre-K 4 SA has given students a head start in early learning. About a thousand people are expected to come together this weekend to celebrate the special anniversary.

Where do we begin to reduce our poverty rates?  In our view, it all goes back to early childhood education.

San Antonio’s model Pre-K 4 SA program, approved by voters in 2012 to provide free prekindergarten to underprivileged children, has given a head start to thousands of kids but remains out of reach to thousands more in middle-class families. That could change under an initiative called Early Matters that will seek policies to improve early childhood education and make it more accessible.

The first cohort of Pre-K 4 SA students had better attendance and received higher third-grade STAAR exam scores than students who were not enrolled in public prekindergarten, according to new data.

It’s back to school today for San Antonio’s sales tax funded Pre-K 4 SA program, and CEO Sarah Baray says after the Legislature called for high quality early childhood programs in every public school district, San Antonio’s program is ready to lead the way, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.

Resident’s 2012 vote to enhance San Antonio’s workforce is paying off, according to a study released by The University of Texas-San Antonio.

During the school year, the Pre-K 4 SA North Center had 97 students for whom English is a second language. Collectively, they speak nearly 40 dialects of 20 languages at home. Many of them started the school year with little or no English vocabulary.

After the passage of House Bill 3, Texas becomes one of only a dozen states offering full-day pre-K. Pre-K 4 SA joins educators around the state in celebrating this landmark legislation.