Brandon Lewis is an eighth-grader on the honor roll at Davidson IB Middle School. His mom traces his success back to when he was a withdrawn 4-year-old entering the pre-kindergarten program known as Bright Beginnings.

The program teaches children skills they'll need for kindergarten - recognizing letters of the alphabet, knowing colors, enjoying books. But for Brandon, what mattered most was "the simple things: learning to share, waiting your turn, knowing when to stand and when to sit," says Lisa Lewis, a teacher assistant at Winding Springs Elementary, where her son attended pre-K. "He just blossomed."

Winding Springs' eight pre-K classrooms are among 105 that will disappear next year if the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board approves Superintendent Peter Gorman's cost-cutting plan today.

Advocates for young children are urging the board to delay a vote, saying there's no need to rush a decision that sets back academic progress and closes schools in fragile neighborhoods.

"It will have a devastating impact on student achievement," said Brett Loftis, executive director of the Council for Children's Rights.

Gorman and many board members agree Bright Beginnings is good for children, but say they can't avoid cutting it as money from the state and county shrinks.

"We believe in the power of this program," Gorman said at a news conference last week. But the federal stimulus money he used to keep Bright Beginnings intact this year will go away in 2011, while county money that has also supported Bright Beginnings is likely to dwindle.

"We cannot continue to pay for pre-K with our shrinking K-12 budget," school board member Rhonda Lennon said.

Where's the proof?

Bright Beginnings debuted with 1,900 4-year-olds in 1998, the brainchild of then-Superintendent Eric Smith.

If those children got promoted every year, they're seniors now. But despite Smith's promises of long-term monitoring, no one knows how many are on track to graduate and what has happened to those who aren't.

Gorman now says there's little value in comparing Bright Beginnings alums with other students on test scores and other measures of long-term academic achievement. By their first exams in third grade, he said recently, kids have had three years of good, bad or mediocre teaching that obscures the pre-K effect.

It's enough to know that Bright Beginnings produces better-prepared kindergartners, Gorman says. He also cites national research supporting the value of pre-K.

Loftis, of the Council for Children's Rights, supports that view. But he'd like to know more about how CMS kids fare. His group has applied for a grant to study Bright Beginnings kids as they move through elementary school.

Human stories

Gorman says he also puts stock in the accounts of teachers and parents who see the effects of pre-K.

Veronica Duncan, a fourth-grade teacher at Winding Springs, says she can tell within 10 minutes whether kids were in Bright Beginnings by studying how well they complete assignments and respect their peers and teachers.

"It's the foundation that paves the way," she said. "I think their whole future is affected, not just elementary school."

Children are admitted to Bright Beginnings, which does not charge tuition, based on skill screenings; those most likely to lag in kindergarten get first priority for seats. Most come from low-income homes, and some have parents who speak little English.

Winding Springs teacher Phillis Robertson says 11 of the 19 children in her pre-K class arrived speaking no English.

On a recent afternoon, a boy who speaks German and Portuguese at home but is still learning English tapped her arm to show her a picture.

"Yes, Francisco, what did you make?"

"A castle," he replied.

Why now?

Gorman has asked the board to vote today on Bright Beginnings cuts so as-yet-unspecified "partners" can help provide alternatives for disadvantaged 4-year-olds.

But children's advocates say there's no advantage to pulling the plug on classes for more than 2,000 kids before CMS knows later this year how bad funding cuts from state, county and federal governments will be.

The Bright Beginnings cut is part of Gorman's plan to pare $100 million from the district's $1 billion-plus budget, and is based on early projections of funds CMS will get. The school board won't vote on the full budget until May.

Unlike other school closings, a decision to shutter pre-K centers requires no reassignment, because current students will move up to kindergarten. Instead, it means fewer seats for children who turn 4 by Aug. 31. CMS will screen children through May 31.

The CMS Investment Study Group, a group of local philanthropists making plans to support westside schools, has looked at pre-K needs but won't announce a plan until the end of this month, said Leslie McCray of Foundation for the Carolinas.

But Loftis says he's talked to members of that group, and they won't use their money to replace government services.

Child Care Resources, a nonprofit resource and referral agency, has been talking with CMS about ways to serve children and make use of the five pre-K centers, all in low-income neighborhoods.

President Janet Singerman says it's unrealistic to expect other public programs or private child-care centers to fill the gap. All government programs for young children are facing the prospect of cuts, she said.

Child-care subsidies help some low-income parents afford top-quality private child care, but Singerman said more than 6,000 Mecklenburg kids, including 621 4-year-olds, are already on waiting lists.

Five-star private centers, charge an average of $9,200 a year for 4-year-olds, Singerman said.