The path not taken

  My wife and I spent the Sunday afternoon of Memorial Day weekend hiking near Lake Martin in Dadeville.

  From a stunning view of the lake, we walked through a canopied forest with all kinds of rocks, ridges, and flora. The trail took us to the lake shore, where we took in the vistas and the $1 million homes all around them.

  It’s a reminder of how many natural jewels we have in Alabama. And it’s free. All you have to do is drive there and start walking. No painful real estate investment required.

Alabama Pre-K thrived outside of politics. Then Kay Ivey dragged it in

  Living in Alabama means seeing our state rank high on lists we’d rather not be on. 

  Infant mortality. Heart attacks. Homicides. 

  And we’re used to seeing the state rank low on lists people value. 

Craig Ford: Alabama’s pre-K program continues to lead the nation, but thousands of kids still don’t have access

  When I was growing up, kids didn’t start learning the alphabet until they began kindergarten. Today, kids are expected to be able to write their names and read at least some words before they even begin kindergarten.

  The expectations are higher, and starting off behind everyone else in their class can leave a kid feeling frustrated and affect their self-esteem. Trying to catch up to their classmates can be difficult, and it is hard for teachers and students when some students are ahead of others.

  This is why Alabama’s pre-K program is so important. And the program’s success is undeniable.

Craig Ford: Let’s make universal pre-K a reality

  I believe that everyone between the ages of four and sixty-four should either be in a good school or a good job. That is why one of my long-time goals has been to see every four-year-old in Alabama have access to the state’s nationally-recognized pre-K program.

  The State of Alabama has done a good job in recent years of expanding the program, and expanding the program has received broad, bipartisan support. In fact, in an age where Democrats and Republicans rarely agree on any major issue, pre-K has been the one program that has unified everybody.

  Why is the pre-K program so popular and so important? Because it works!

Craig Ford: Expanding pre-K is a step in the right direction

  With all the bad we see in our political news, it's good to know there is some good news out there, too!

  These days, it’s easy to think nothing good ever comes out of our government – especially here in Alabama! But for all the bad you hear about, there are a lot of great things going on in our state and in our public schools. A perfect example is Alabama’s pre-K program, which has just been named the best pre-K program in the country for the tenth year in a row by the National Institute for Early Education Research.