Ex-military support preschool funding

NORFOLK, Va. (AP/WAVY) - Former military leaders say they support Gov. Bob McDonnell's efforts to provide additional funding for a statewide preschool initiative.

Two former Air Force generals and a former Coast Guard admiral said they would throw their support on Thursday behind McDonnell's plan to increase funding for the Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) by about $5 million. They say improving education in the state would help national security.

That's because a 2010 report by The Education Trust notes that nearly 26 percent of high school graduates in Virginia fail a military entrance exam. They say high-quality early learning programs are a necessary step to improve student performance and increase the pool of young adults qualified for military service.

Retired Air Force General Richard Hawley said, "Today, we are releasing a new report: Virginia's Education System: Supporting Our National Security, which offers a solution to this critical issue."

The report from the group called Mission Readiness urges Virginia lawmakers to support the governor's budget request to increase funding for the Virginia Preschool Initiative by $5 million for fiscal year 2013.

Retired Major General David Edgington, the former chief of staff of the Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, cited a Michigan study that supported the value of providing quality preschool education to at-risk four-year-olds in that state.

"Those that completed that early education had a 44 percent higher graduation rate than those that did not," Edgington said.

Only 14 percent of at-risk four-year olds in Virginia are able to take advantage of the VPI program at the current funding levels.

Click here to view sample questions from the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test.