 Okay, good afternoon everyone. Are there any Apaches in the house? My name is Carl Shresti. I'm the state senator for district 19 Which includes of course Leal Middle School, and I want to first start off by thanking the principal Miss Gonzalez How about a round of applause? Independent school district I grew up right down the street. I went to McCullum high school So that makes me a cowboy and I know some of y'all are Indians But it's a friendly robbery here on the south side of San Antonio Which is one of the best places to go to school to live to work and to raise a family. I Have two children that graduated from the Harndale school district as well There are also Calvary and I'm very proud of them. So I want to welcome all of you here today We have some very special guests that are with us this afternoon Of course, we have Mayor Gullion Castro. We have our county judge Nelson Wolf We have representative Joe Padillas and Very good friend of mine and one of my colleagues senator Wendy Davis So welcome everyone to our program this afternoon and with that I will turn it over to mayor Castro Bestie and all of our other dignitaries and to my principal Gonzales and superintendent Marigal. It's wonderful to be here at Laos middle school To all the teachers and students. It's great to be with you Well, our 21st century global economy demands a well-educated workforce and in schools like Laos and districts like Harlendale We know the value of a great education The research is very compelling that the best way to ensure that a child gets Ahead is to make sure that she never gets behind in the first place And so cities like San Antonio and others across the nation have taken up an effort to ensure That every single child gets a great pre-k education here in Harlendale, for instance, they've been doing that for a number of years Almost since birth and then with three-year-olds and four-year-olds ensuring that they get high quality full-day pre-k Now with pre-k for SA San Antonio is determined to have the most well-prepared best-educated four-year-olds in all of Texas so that we can have more high school graduates More folks that go on to college and more folks who are prepared to take on jobs of the 21st century and ensure our economic prosperity The fact is that the path to prosperity for Texas depends upon being both pro-business and pro-education And this is not a Republican or Democratic issue in fact in 2005 2007 and 2009 legislative sessions senator Ellis senator vandepute and others introduced legislation to significantly expand Pre-k in our state as did representative Diane Patrick of Arlington But each time those were not successful with the exception actually of some of the work that senator vandepute did to help expand Pre-k to foster children and others What we need and what the leaders who are here today Are willing to do is to provide leadership at the state of Texas to ensure that every single child No matter the means of their parents or their family has the opportunity to get a great start in their education This leadership is overdue, but it's very well It is I think important for all of us to stand up and say that every child deserves a great shot at a good education and That's a great pre-k. They can get that shot. That's why I'm excited to be here And that's why I'm excited to stand with senator Davis and senator vandepute Who will be our next governor and lieutenant governor of the state of Texas? To introduce and welcome a real champion not just for San Antonio, but for all of Texas who has been making us very proud for many years A trailblazer a role model and a fighter for our young people senator la pizia vandepute Thank you so much. Mr. Mayor. I am Really delighted to be here as a state senator whose district goes to about division street and and north and west I am Very mindful of the pride that our colleague senator. That's the house in this school district It's students its faculty and staff It's board of trustees and the leadership that they have shown So I'm thankful to be here today along with a great leader in our county Nelson Wolf and the others who are standing with us You know nothing is More exciting You see a three and four year old and you get that moment of Amazing You get that epiphany the excitement of learning to connect a letter and a sound and another letter and a sound and They can read and spot their first word As a parent I can tell you that those moments are probably the most exciting besides seeing your baby take that first step and we know that just as The physical growth of our students and the health and well-being of them physically is so very important That it is the preparation for success That begins with three and four year olds Science tells us that that's when those neural pathways are firing That's when those brainwaves are able to absorb so much and the learning pathways are set We know from the support of business leaders that they think it's a sound investment to have quality pre-kindergarten in this day Or else I wouldn't have been able to pass Any extensions of pre-k? Working along the Texas Association of Business that supported all of our expansions Because they knew that it was a sound business investment You put your investment at the very beginning to ensure success along the line And I see people here today like great leaders Joe Alvarez every Almo colleges for our students to be successful in that 21st century knowledge-based economy Nothing could be more of a sound footing than having quality pre-k I'm proud of the people of San Antonio who finally took up the legislation That we had passed called Better Jobs in 1999 because it is the better jobs That's part of that outcome that we know what a successful quality pre-k program could be We also know that it is very short-sighted The first time that the legislature and our state budgets get cut Those who were in the leadership position there They didn't hesitate about cutting over 200 million dollars to our pre-k program Why would you cut the most successful part of a child's education? And even when we had the chance to restore all of it last session It didn't happen That's why today I am so very proud to be here with my colleague and my sister In the center of Wendy Davis Wendy knows the power of education She like many others and me and my family Could not even stand before you today had it not been for the great teachers That we have had the great teachers in our public school systems And we know that the investment up early In that three and four year old range pays off time and time again You know I look forward to the day in January of 2015 When I could be in a leadership position We'll have a governor in Wendy Davis who will tell People across this country come to Texas Have your businesses here You will have an educated workforce And their children of the workers and we will be able to have A great education system Wendy understands that it's not just about low paying jobs. It's about putting the investment In kindergarten and pre-k especially to make sure that our workforce is prepared And that employers Are the ones that will benefit Businesses will benefit because people will have that availability of an educational level To have the living wages To buy goods and services It's an economic imperative And so my friends today I am so thrilled to be with our next governor Wendy Davis to announce her absolute support and her plan to ensure success in our public schools by investing In our youngest students Thank you very much Senator Banderpute Judge Mayor Senator Resty And of course our distinguished school board members and superintendent representative Marias I'm so proud to be with all of you today In this incredible school district to talk about the very important work that I hope to achieve as your next governor A special thanks to principal Gonzales To our school board president Alanis and public information officer Leslie and Garza for hosting us today And to Elise Vera for helping to make this event possible for us It is a privilege to be with all of you Of course as your mayor knows San Antonio has been leading the way in providing full day quality pre-kindergarten programs for his community and This community has embraced that idea and taken it upon themselves To assure that every child in the San Antonio area has an opportunity to access the benefits of pre-kindergarten education The opportunities that are happening right here In the Alamos city should be opportunities that are available to every single child across this state I am very impressed with the students that I've met here at Armanda Laial Middle School And I'm proud to know that this school was named for a young man Who came from this school who went on to serve our country in vietnam And who gave the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of all of us It says a great deal about the kind of people that are coming out of Laial Middle School As you know yesterday, I unveiled the third part of my common sense education reforms Great start great, Texas It is a specific plan for how we can strengthen pre-k and early childhood education For school children across the state I'm focused on pre-k because we know it can deliver a major boost in math And reading scores and improve non-cognitive skills like concentration Teamwork and long-term planning We also know that the benefits carry on past the classroom Including higher personal income and reduced state spending on prisons and health care Yet in Texas Nearly seven in ten low income students are not enrolled in pre-k and the state funds right now Only three hours a day We have extraordinary school districts like Carlandale that have made it their priority to fill that gap through their local property tax Resources and demonstrate their commitment to full day pre-k and of course we have a community like San Antonio That's taken upon itself the local tax burden to make that possible But it's the state's responsibility to make that achievable for all children in Texas Here is my plan First as governor, I will ensure that every eligible Texas student has access to quality full day pre-k The evidence on pre-k is clear as mayor Castro said UT researchers have found that at-risk students Children were coming from low-income families and those with limited English proficiency gained the most for pre-k Test scores rising by at least 12 points in math and reading comprehension And despite this known success as senator vandepute said the 2011 Legislature slashed 200 million dollars from the pre-k grant program Pennywise and pound foolish as ben franklin would say We can no longer allow a student's future to be held captive to the short-sighted budget priorities that we see in failed leadership in austin Secondly, I will work with the legislature to promote early childhood reading So that every child is reading at or above grade level by the third grade We know that students who fall behind and are behind by the time they get to third grade Are far less likely to ever catch up By third grade reading performance is a key predictor of high school graduation And preparation for higher education We can prepare students for the next level by ensuring that their teachers are Knowledgeable that they've been given the most effective tools and training and techniques for maximizing Reading comprehension and that we provide our teachers with the professional support that they need to achieve that My plan also includes a commitment to help our existing teachers tremendously in that regard by restoring to the classroom The teacher aids that were cut in that 2011 budget and that are such an important part of giving the one on one Help to students to get them reading where they need to be These common sense reforms set a foundation for learning that can sustain our state's growth and expand opportunity States like oklahoma and georgia have already shown that pre-k works As mayor castro knows every dollar invested in high quality full day pre-k can return up to 16 dollars It's time It's time for texas to support investments like this and we can cover full day pre-k For 750 million dollars annually We can do it by leveraging existing federal funds available for pre-k programs And through surplus state revenues that we know we will begin the 2015 legislative session equipped to use for this purpose Not only is it important to do this to invest in the future of every child and to invest in the state economy It's incredibly important that we do this to free up local property tax burdens right now that have had to Shoulder this cost in order to make sure that this priority is met It's time for the state to play its appropriate role in relieving that burden With a 16 dollar return for every pre-k dollar spent It doesn't take a financial genius to understand that it's an investment worth making As a whole my great schools great texas education plan will recruit and retain the next generation of great teachers in texas It will ensure College access to more texas and it will set the priorities in the right place Put austin's focus where it should be on the school children of texas on our very future For me it goes to the heart of who i am Where i came from and how fortunate i am to be in the position that i'm in today I know firsthand that the promise of texas means and should continue to mean That where you start does not determine how far you can go It's about getting our kids on the right path from the get-go to assure That the sky is the limit for their dreams The very real truth is that education is the single best predictor of income and i am offering proven ways To make texas education accessible and real to even our youngest children So we have a very clear choice We can do nothing and continue to watch as the benefits of education And shrinking take-home pay slip from our grasp Or we can put my plans and the plans of leaders like mayor castro And senator vandepu in place and deliver on the promise for all of our citizens That texas should keep to them As governor i will task the legislature to do what they're supposed to do reflect the real priorities of texas and that starts by ensuring Every child in texas access to full day pre-k I want every texan to have the same opportunities that i had and we can do that with the right leadership in the governor's office Thank you. God bless you God bless you Questions i'm sure others who have joined us today would be happy as well if you have any particular questions for any of us Senator davis, um, did you have inspiration that felt like your inspiration from the mayor castros program? No question You know, i really admired the leadership that mayor castro exhibited In bringing this city along and the understanding about the importance of this investment This is a community not unlike any other in texas where The the people who live and work and are raising their families here understand that they cannot succeed If every child doesn't have an opportunity to succeed Mayor castros leadership has demonstrated to us that we can If we set these priorities in the right place Focus our efforts to achieve these goals on behalf of the students and the future of our texas economy A message for the hispanic community in korea new park a message for the hispanic community For the hispanic community. I want them to understand That every child coming from every family in texas should have the same opportunities to achieve their dreams Families who are facing challenges. Maybe they are single parent families Maybe they are families with a very real challenge in terms of the income that they're bringing home Maybe they are families who face the challenges of dual language learning and the Additional help that's needed for their children to get up to speed I want every family in texas hispanic anglo african-american asian and beyond to understand that the unique challenges That their children may face will be met by this state and that we see their children Not as a challenge. We see them as the greatest opportunity The greatest strength that we have here and certainly worth our investment and our priority Thank you