Getting a jump on life, one Utah preschooler at a time

Preschools • County officials get a look at how their investment may pay future dividends.

Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune
Five year old Mariah Garcia listens intently to a reading of author Linda Williams' "The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything" Halloween story in Mrs Shackelford and Mrs. McDonald's pre-school class at Wright Elementary School in West Valley City, Thursday, October 24, 2013. County mayor Ben McAdams, Republican and Democratic councilmen and school district officials visited the classroom filled with kids who were able to get in because of an appropriation that allowed 600 more kids to get into Granite School District preschools this fall.

Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune
Rosa Duarte, 4, left, and Viola Corley, 4, investigate small plastic bugs and leaves with magnifying glasses in Mrs Shackelford and Mrs. McDonald's pre-school classroom #206 at Wright Elementary School, Thursday, October 24, 2013. County mayor Ben McAdams, Republican and Democratic councilmen and school district officials visited the classroom filled with kids who were able to get in because of an appropriation that allowed 600 more kids to get into Granite School District preschools this fall.

Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams, in blue, waves to children in a preschool class at Wright Elementary Schoo in West Valley City. The county mayor, Republican and Democratic councilmen, and school district officials visited the classroom, which included kids who might not have gotten into the preschool program without assistance from a private/public partnership program.

Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams, center, watches as Councilman Sam Granato, right, acts out the scary shoe part of Linda Williams' "The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything" Halloween story in a preschool class Thursday at Wright Elementary School in West Valley City. The county, Goldman Sachs and the Prizker Foundation are teaming up on an eductaton effort that enabled an additional 600 low-income kids to get into Granite School District preschool programs this fall.

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Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune Five year old Mariah Garcia listens intently to a reading of author Linda Williams' "The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything" Halloween story in Mrs Shackelford and Mrs. McDonald's pre-school class at Wright Elementary School in West Valley City, Thursday, October 24, 2013. County mayor Ben McAdams, Republican and Democratic councilmen and school district officials visited the classroom filled with kids who were able to get in because of an appropriation that allowed 600 more kids to get into Granite School District preschools this fall. Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune Rosa Duarte, 4, left, and Viola Corley, 4, investigate small plastic bugs and leaves with magnifying glasses in Mrs Shackelford and Mrs. McDonald's pre-school classroom #206 at Wright Elementary School, Thursday, October 24, 2013. County mayor Ben McAdams, Republican and Democratic councilmen and school district officials visited the classroom filled with kids who were able to get in because of an appropriation that allowed 600 more kids to get into Granite School District preschools this fall. Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams, in blue, waves to children in a preschool class at Wright Elementary Schoo in West Valley City. The county mayor, Republican and Democratic councilmen, and school district officials visited the classroom, which included kids who might not have gotten into the preschool program without assistance from a private/public partnership program. Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams, center, watches as Councilman Sam Granato, right, acts out the scary shoe part of Linda Williams' "The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything" Halloween story in a preschool class Thursday at Wright Elementary School in West Valley City. The county, Goldman Sachs and the Prizker Foundation are teaming up on an eductaton effort that enabled an additional 600 low-income kids to get into Granite School District preschool programs this fall.

The Salt Lake Tribune

· October 24, 2013 4:54 pm

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams and councilmen Sam Granato and Richard Snelgrove received first-hand evidence Thursday of the benefits stemming from a $350,000 county investment in a private/public partnership to boost preschool education.

At McAdams' behest, the county council allocated the money to enable an additional 600 disadvantaged children to get into previously full Granite District preschools this fall. The county money is a triggering mechanism that will help the United Way to use $1 million in private funds from Goldman Sachs and the J.B. & M.K. Pritzker Family Foundation to expand preschools.

McAdams believes giving more children a better early start on life will help them become meaningful community contributors, decreasing future expenses for the county's criminal justice and behavioral health systems.