Loudon County Sheriff Tim Guider visited pre-kindergarten students at Steekee Elementary School Friday as part of an effort to fight crime in the community by reaching children at an early age.

Guider read the children's book, Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann to the 4-year-old students. It's the story of a police officer and his police dog who speak to students about safety. With Guider, Deputy Chris Jenkins and K-9 officer, Diego, visited the children.

"I think it has a huge impact just because they are very impressionable at this age," Guider said. "It just gets their brains in gear."
Guider said studies have shown a correlation between early education and success later in life. Students who attend a quality pre-kindergarten program are less likely to drop out of high school or some day end up in jail.

The Sheriff's Department is one of 150 law enforcement agencies in the state that are members of "Fight Crime: Invest in Kids." The national organization works to decrease the potential for crime by impacting young children.

"We study what works to keep children from ever getting involved in crime," said Mark Rogers, state director of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids. The organization has been in existence for more than a decade and has been in Tennessee for 5 years.
"We provide the research to our members," he said, adding reaching pre-kindergarten at-risk children leads to safer communities and saves money.

"This is what the research shows and we are on the front lines so we know how important this is," he said.
The organization's research and other studies through the last four decades have proven there is a direct correlation between the crime rate and high-quality pre-kindergarten programs like the one in Loudon County, he said.

"Tennessee has one of the three or four best pre-k programs in the country," Rogers said.
Debra Jenkins, a first-grade teacher at Steekee said there is a definite difference between her students who went through a pre-k program, compared to those who did not.
"They've had exposure to a literacy-rich environment," she said. The impact is both in academics and social skills and can affect the students' behaviors as well.

Rogers said he hopes pre-k programs across the state do not fall victim to budget cuts in the tight economy.
"It's unbelievable, the impact (pre-k classes) have," said Steekee Elementary School Principal Scott Mackintosh. "You can tell the difference when you have five-year-olds that show up for kindergarten that have had pre-k. It helps us so much both in our achievement and also in helping kids that might not have the ability at home to develop socially and mentally the way they do here."

greg.wilkerson@news-herald.net