HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – As part of her efforts to promote childhood literacy throughout inauguration festivities, Governor Kay Ivey spent her Thursday reading to Pre-K students at Providence Elementary School.

During her visit at Providence, Governor Ivey stressed the importance of reading.

“The more you read, the more you know, the more you learn,” says Ivey.

“Over the past 12 years, Alabama has been ranked as the number one quality Pre-K program in the nation which is something we are incredibility proud of. We know that Pre-K works and it’s because of our dedicated teachers and our staff who are here every single day for our four-year-olds ensuring that they have the best start,” says Ada Katherine Van Wyhe with the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education.

Providence Pre-K is an example of excellence, and Governor Ivey saw that first hand while touring classrooms.

“We have an excellent Pre-K program here at Providence. We have three first-class classrooms, excellent teachers, great support from our district. So we are just very honored that the governor selected us. We have really no idea how we were selected except just favor from God,” says Providence Elementary Principal, Lynette Alexander.

Earlier this week, Ivey announced a $10.6 million dollar grant that will help improve Pre-K programs across the state, including Providence.

Governor Ivey has made stops throughout the week at schools in Pine Hill, Mobile, and Huntsville. She will end her tour in Birmingham on Friday. Through a partnership with Books-A-Million, each child will go home with a copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.

https://whnt.com/2019/01/10/governor-ivey-visited-local-elementary-school/