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Four-year-olds entering pre-K in Mississippi鈥檚 Lamar County Schools don鈥檛 spend their days on worksheets or bent over papers practicing their letters. But they do have plenty of books, Play-Doh and time for friends. 

And some leave for kindergarten knowing how to read. 

鈥淏ut it’s not because we’re hounding them,鈥� said Heather Lyons, the program鈥檚 coordinator. 鈥淚t’s because we’re constantly trying to help them pursue this love of learning.鈥�

That careful mix of academics and social skills is one reason demand for the program is strong. Parents start calling in January to ask about registering their kids for the fall, Lyons said. Lamar鈥檚 program is part a statewide pre-K initiative now serving a quarter of the state鈥檚 4-year-olds 鈥� up from about 3% six years ago.

The state helped drive pre-K enrollment nationwide to record levels in 2022-23, according to the recent from the National Institute for Early Education Research. Following sharp declines during the pandemic, participation in preschool is back on the upswing. Over 1.6 million children attended public pre-K last school year, with the percentage of 3-and 4-year-olds hitting new highs. 

Expanding access, however, doesn鈥檛 mean states have to cut back on quality by lowering training requirements for teachers or increasing class sizes, the report鈥檚 authors note.

They point to Mississippi as an example of a state that鈥檚 managed to boost enrollment while maintaining high standards.

In fact, the state is among the few that have written the institute鈥檚 鈥渜uality benchmarks鈥� . Those include having teachers with a bachelor鈥檚 degree, assistants with early-childhood training, and screenings for vision, hearing and health problems.

鈥淲e’re keeping an eye on them,鈥� said Allison Friedman-Krauss, an assistant research professor at the institute. 鈥淭hey started small with a focus on quality. They are also working hard to fund more coaches to support teachers, so they’re committed to quality in that way.鈥�

There are now 36 early learning collaboratives 鈥� local partnerships that include school districts, Head Start providers and child care centers 鈥� that offer the pre-K program.

鈥淲e’re moving out of the baby stage and into the teen stage of the law,鈥� said Rachel Canter, executive director Mississippi First, an advocacy group. She added that including Head Start, the federal preschool program serving children in poverty, is one reason the program receives bipartisan support. 鈥淧eople across the political spectrum see how it can benefit their own community. That has allowed us to expand it statewide while also making sure kids who need it most are getting access.鈥�

Due partly to her advocacy, the legislature has increased annual spending on the program five times since 2016.

Now the challenge is to increase the number of child care providers that participate and continue to expand, she said. 

In communities without a program, parents are often left with lower-quality options or end up juggling their child between multiple caregivers during the day. Other parents, Canter said, might take fewer hours at work to stay home with their children. 鈥淭hat’s a terrible situation for a working family.鈥�

Supporting the workforce

Advocates and policymakers are often the forces behind efforts to expand early-childhood education. But in 鈥� another state making major moves in pre-K 鈥� it was the voters who demanded more access when they passed a by an overwhelming 73%. 

The law creates permanent funding for early learning, resulting in the legislature appropriating last year. School districts, child care providers and tribal governments are now using some of those funds to by boosting teacher pay to match what K-12 teachers receive, using high-quality curriculum and giving preschoolers an extended school day.

The state also provides for teachers still earning their degree and pays for substitutes so teachers can take time off to attend courses.  

鈥淭he early childhood workforce has just been historically undervalued,鈥� said Sara Mickelson, deputy secretary of the state鈥檚 Early Childhood Education and Care Department. 鈥淲e’re really a state that is supporting access to degrees.鈥�

Meanwhile, 70% of New Mexico 4-year-olds now attend public preschool, making the state one of just a handful that serves at least two-thirds of eligible students.

But states serving the most preschoolers 鈥� like California, Florida and Texas 鈥�  are not always examples of high quality.

California spent over $830 million in 2022-23 on preschool and is moving toward making all 4-year-olds eligible for its transitional kindergarten program by the fall of 2025. That figure accounted for over 70% of the total $1.17 billion increase in spending for the whole country, said Steve Barnett, the institute鈥檚 senior co-director.

But since it began a decade ago, the transitional program has met only a few of the institute鈥檚 10 quality indicators. Teachers weren鈥檛 required to have special training in educating young children and class sizes were far larger than recommended 鈥� , compared with the institute鈥檚 benchmark of 20.

鈥淭here were no guidelines from the state,鈥� said Rahele Arakabi, director of educational services for the Washington Unified School District in West Sacramento. Classrooms, she said, looked more like first grade than pre-K, with students sitting in rows facing the whiteboard. 鈥淭eachers really were in that mode of drill and kill.鈥� 

But the outlook for the program has improved. Statewide, class sizes are now capped at 24 students with two teachers; and charters that don鈥檛 comply face fines. By the 2025-26 school year, ratios will be set at the institute鈥檚 standard of 10-to-1. The state also offers a new credential for educators teaching preschool through third grade, and by next year, teachers will be required to have or experience in early-childhood education. 

In Washington Unified, which serves 130 transitional kindergarten students in six classes, ratios are even lower, 8-to-1. Some teachers who worked in the district鈥檚 separate preschool program have already earned a credential to teach in transitional kindergarten.

Arakabi used a $400,000 to make classrooms more child-friendly, with age-appropriate furniture and play areas. She implemented a new curriculum specifically for pre-K and provided a year of coaching and support on child development. The investment, she said, is making a difference.

鈥淢y worry was always buying curriculum and then it just sits there in the shrink wrap,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his group of teachers is not easy to please,  but they’re actually using it.鈥�

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