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Chicago Expanding Pre-Kindergarten For City's 4-Year-Olds

CHICAGO (AP) -- Chicago's public schools will make pre-kindergarten available to 3,700 more children next fall as part of a four-year plan to provide it to every 4-year-old in the city.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel says implementing universal full-day pre-kindergarten for all of the children regardless of their families' financial status will "further close the achievement gap."

The plan calls for adding 180 classrooms this fall in low-income communities. To attract more teachers, Emanuel says $2 million is being invested in what's called the Chicago Early Learning Workforce Scholarship.

The program is part of a larger effort by Emanuel to increase classroom time and when the latest effort is completed, city public school students will be in the classroom 3 1/2 years longer than they were in 2011.

(© Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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