New York City officials recently announced that they will not be expanding the city's free preschool program to include up to 60,000 more 3-year-olds. This is the second time in recent weeks that access to preschool education in the state of New York is shrinking rather than expanding. In October, Columbia University informed Red Balloon Early Childhood Learning Center, a 50-year old preschool, that it must vacate its university-owned space. But access to preschool is not just a New York problem, it is a pervasive issue nationwide, and now is the time to invest in federally funded universal preschool education.
Unlike K-12 education, all children do not have access to preschool education. Universal preschool, "preschool for all," allows all families, regardless of income, to enroll their child in a publicly funded prekindergarten program.
Oklahoma and Georgia have offered universal preschool for its residents for years, and soon, California and New Mexico will too. But not all children are that fortunate. According to the latest census data, approximately 4 million 3- and 4-year-old children are not enrolled in a preschool program. This unmet need overwhelmingly affects children from minoritized and economically marginalized backgrounds and has a lasting impact. A study by the Center for American Progress found that young children from economically marginalized backgrounds enter kindergarten approximately 13 months behind in reading when compared to peers from higher income backgrounds. African American students enter kindergarten approximately seven months behind in reading while Hispanic students enter approximately 12 months behind. Annual reports from the National Assessment of Educational Progress illustrated that these opportunity gaps are persistent over time and have been exacerbated by the pandemic. A federally funded universal preschool program could provide children with the opportunity to succeed by improving short-term and long-term outcomes.
There is substantial evidence outlining the benefits of attending a preschool/prekindergarten program. To be sure, it will not be free to provide preschool for all, but the economic cost upfront is dwarfed by the economic benefits of having future citizens who are well-educated and can improve labor productivity. Providing all young children access to preschool/prekindergarten programs may improve reading outcomes for children from minoritized and economically marginalized backgrounds. In fact, studies indicate improved early literacy and early math outcomes for children who participate in preschool/prekindergarten programs. Longitudinal studies examining the benefits of preschool/prekindergarten programs have found that children who participated, many from minoritized backgrounds, demonstrated greater high school graduation rates, employment rates, and median salaries.
A prekindergarten task force comprised of experts in the field of early childhood education all agreed that children who attend preschool are more ready for kindergarten than children who do not. Finally, a recent report revealed that preschool-age children who attended Tulsa's universal preschool program were more likely to enroll in two-year and four-year colleges when compared to preschool-age children who did not attend. A federally funded universal preschool program could provide all children with a similar opportunity.
We have spent several decades touting the numerous benefits of preschool education but benefiting from preschool education starts with access to preschool education. It's time we "put our money where our mouth is." Federal lawmakers must agree on the importance of preschool education, approve the historic early childhood funding originally proposed by President Joe Biden in his Build Back Better framework, and finally provide access to all young children.
Kizzy Albritton, PhD, is a Public Voices Fellow of the OpEd Project at the University of Texas at Austin and an associate professor of school psychology in the department of educational psychology.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
