Lottery supports strong start in school with NC Pre-K

Kids are back in school and we love the buzz surrounding our North Carolina schools as kids walk through those school doors a grade older and a year wiser.

Here at the lottery we couldn’t be prouder to help support learning all across our state, even for our youngest learners.

Sometimes four-year-olds need that extra “something” to get them ready for kindergarten and beyond. In comes NC Pre-K, a stellar program for some of our littlest learners to get the leg up they need in their academic career.

You can see how the money raised by the lottery helps get four-year-olds ready for schools in a video featuring a mother with a child in a NC Pre-K program and one of its teachers.

“A good education is important for a child to be successful,” said Teresa Clayton, Lead NC Pre-K teacher at Care-O-World Early Learning Center in Washington, who was featured in the video. “I think it’s important for all children to have access to Pre-K. It provides everyone with the same playing field. It gives them a dream of being an engineer when they get older or maybe a doctor.”

Thousands of four-year-olds received free Pre-K so that they’d get the right foundation for learning in kindergarten and every year after that.

“It’s going to give them the backbone that they need going into the school system,” said the mother, Myesia Howard-Martin, who shared her story in the video. “I was looking for something to get him prepared for the ‘big school’ world. Before NC Pre-K, he was the type of child who would shut down when asked a question. Now he’s raising his hand to answer questions. It makes me feel good as a parent.”

Your lottery helps fund this NC Pre-K program, every year. Last year, $78 million raised by the lottery helped send four-year-olds to NC Pre-K programs in all counties of our state. Click here for more information on eligibility requirements and resources to get your four-year-old enrolled.

“You need to open all doors at that age,” said Howard-Martin. “I think Pre-K made a difference with Jacob. My child can go to an awesome program for free! It’s gonna help them in the long run with what they’re gonna do in life. And that’s a big relief.”