Where are the four year olds?

A recent article in the Seattle Times talked about a report issued from the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) at Rutgers University showing states spent at least $3.3 billion last year on pre-kindergarten. This is up from $2.8 billion in state funding in 2005. The report also states that 20% of the four year olds in the United States (approximately 1 million children) were in state pre-K last year. That figure is up from 17% from the year before. Another 35% of four year olds are in private preschool or childcare centers and 31% are at home.

Historically, most of the pre-K programs funded with state and federal dollars were for children from low income families. Recently, three states-Florida, Georgia and Oklahoma-have begun to offer pre-K to all children and other states are considering the concept.

Here in Washington State six percent of our four year olds are in state sponsored pre-K.

Experts see many benefits for a child who attends pre-K and feel that if pre-K is offered to every child that there will be a better chance of getting political support for the program.

The article goes on to mention the fight that went on in the 1970s over access to full day kindergarten. At that time only 20% of kindergarten children went to all day kindergarten. Today the figure is approximately 65%.

We still have a long way to go. Washington State schools primarily offer half day kindergarten but there is legislation this session to make kindergarten full day for all children. There is quite a bit of momentum in our state around early learning and there is every possibility that in the near future our children will all have high quality child care, pre-K and full day kindergarten.