Jill Biden and Defense Secretary Visit Alabama to Boost Early Education for Military Families
First Lady Jill Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Alabama's Maxwell Air Force Base to promote early education for military families, highlighting efforts to enhance pre-kindergarten programs across the nation.
@ReadWhatRickWrote 
First Lady Jill Biden visited Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, on Friday to check out a new preschool classroom. She believes this program could serve as a model for early education across the U.S.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin joined her on the trip to highlight the government's focus on providing better pre-kindergarten opportunities for military families.
According to Biden, Maxwell and 80 other military bases are offering programs aimed at helping preschool children build a strong reading foundation. This is important for their future academic success. The new school at Maxwell Air Force Base is about a month old.
Drawing from her experience as a reading specialist, Biden explained how crucial it is to support children from a young age to prevent them from falling behind. “If we want kids to succeed in school and their careers, we need to invest in them from the very beginning,” Biden said.
The Biden administration supports free, high-quality pre-kindergarten education nationwide.
Alabama already offers a program called First Class Pre-K, providing free early education for 4-year-olds. While not available everywhere in the state, its expansion has been backed by both the Legislature and the governor’s office. It has been consistently praised for its quality.
Biden arrived in Montgomery just after noon. Local officials, including Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed, were there to welcome her. Also present were Montgomery County Commission Chair Doug Singleton and Col. Shamekia N. Toliver, commander of the 42nd Air Base Wing at Maxwell.
During the visit, Defense Secretary Austin planned to discuss efforts to improve financial stability and career support for military families. This is part of a broader goal to retain service members and improve recruitment. While the Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force are expected to meet their recruitment goals this year, the Navy may face some challenges, according to a White House press release.
