Time to Lead Again. The Promise of. Georgia Pre-K SEF SINCE Atlanta. Augusta. Macon. Columbus. Savannah. Roswell. Marietta. Athens.

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1 Realizing The American Dream Through Education Time to Lead Again The Promise of Marietta Roswell Athens Georgia Pre-K Atlanta Augusta Macon Columbus Savannah Albany SEF SINCE 1867 The Southern Education Foundation

2 The Southern Education Foundation The Southern Education Foundation (SEF), is a nonprofit organization comprised of diverse women and men who work together to improve the quality of life for all of the South s people through better and more accessible education. SEF advances creative solutions to ensure fairness and excellence in education for low income students from preschool through higher education. SEF develops and implements programs of its own design, serves as an intermediary for donors who want a high-quality partner with whom to work on education issues in the South, and participates as a public charity in the world of philanthropy. SEF depends upon contributions from foundations, corporations, and individuals to support its efforts. SEF s Vision We seek a South and a nation with a skilled workforce that sustains an expanding economy, where civic life embodies diversity and democratic values and practice, and where an excellent education system provides all students with fair chances to develop their talents and contribute to the common good. We will be known for our commitment to combating poverty and inequality through education. SEF s Ti m e l e s s Mi s s i o n SEF develops, promotes, and implements policies, practices, and creative solutions that ensure educational excellence, fairness, and high levels of achievement for all students. SEF began in 1867 as the Peabody Education Fund. Cre d i t s Time to Lead Again: The Promise of Georgia Pre-K, as well as other SEF reports and publications, can be found at Steve Suitts, SEF vice president, with the assistance of Lauren Veasey, SEF program officer, developed and wrote this report. SEF senior program officer Andrea Young contributed to the report s design, development, and writing. Mary Sommers of Typographic Solutions designed the report.

3 Realizing The American Dream Through Education Time to Lead Again The Promise of Georgia Pre-K With Support and Assistance from The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta SEF SINCE 1867 The Southern Education Foundation

4 2008 Southern Education Foundation, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. First Edition. Portions of this work may be reproduced without permission, provided that acknowledgement is given to the Southern Education Foundation. Limited permission is also granted for larger portions to be reproduced by nonprofit and public agencies and institutions only, solely for noncommercial purposes so long as acknowledgement to the Southern Education Foundation as the source is prominently given. Reproduction or storage in any electronic form for any purpose, commercial or noncommercial, is prohibited without the express written permission of the Southern Education Foundation. Printed copies of Time to Lead Again: The Promise of Georgia Pre-K are available from the Southern Education Foundation, 135 Auburn Avenue, Second Floor, Atlanta, GA for $15.00 each while supplies last. An electronic version is available without charge at

5 Table of Contents Foreword by Lynn Huntley, President, Southern Education Foundation...3 Executive Summary The Promise of Georgia Pre-K...5 Introduction Time to Lead Again...7 Pre-K Enrollment and Access Stuck Near Half-Full....9 Pre-K Access for Low Income Children...12 High-Quality Pre-K Programs Great Start, But Slow to Update...14 Pre-K Resources for Each Student Moving in the Wrong Direction...17 Educational Benefits of Georgia Pre-K Impressive But Not Complete Economic Benefits of Georgia Pre-K Returns Yet to Come...24 Sidebar: The Role of Education in Georgia s Economy: Education Makes All the Difference...26 Georgia Pre-K Second to None Making It Happen Again...29 Conclusion and Recommendations Now Is the Time...32 Appendices Appendix 1: Percent of Eligible Four-Year-Olds Served by Georgia Pre-K, Appendix 2: Georgia Pre-K Enrollment as a Percentage of Kindergarten Enrollment, Selected Bibliography...38 Time to lead again: The Promise of Georgia Pre-K 1

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7 Foreword This report is about promises. It is about the promise that little children represent when they come into the world and the responsibility of adults to provide opportunities for children to have healthy early years full of hope and excitement about life s many facets and possibilities. It is about the role of early learning in building both the intellectual capacity and social skills necessary to help little children achieve success in school and life. It is about the burgeoning body of research that demonstrates the singular importance of quality pre-kindergarten as a primary means of helping young children become ready for years of quality education through young adulthood. And it is about the demonstrated positive effect that sage and expanded public investments in the provision of quality pre-kindergarten for children can have down the road in fostering economic growth and development from which everyone can benefit. The report is also about an audacious promise that Georgia public officials made in 1993 when they vowed, in response to public demand, that all little children whose parents were desirous of the opportunity would have access to high-quality, publicly supported pre-kindergarten. That promise of universal, publicly supported high-quality pre-kindergarten services distinguished the State of Georgia from other states around the nation and inspired emulation. In the same way that kindergarten became an acknowledged and integral part of K-12 education in Georgia years ago, pre-kindergarten became part of Georgia s promise of quality education for all of its children. Unfortunately, in 2008, the public promise of universal access to high-quality pre-kindergarten services has become and is largely illusory. This report shows that there are far more Georgia children desirous of access to publicly supported pre-kindergarten than there are available facilities. It explores some of the barriers to greater engagement and improved access, especially for low income children who need help the most. Time to lead again: The Promise of Georgia Pre-K 3

8 The know-how to create a world-class program of prekindergarten is in Georgia, ready to be tapped, both to improve what we have and expand what we ve got. The warrant for expansion of publicly supported prekindergarten is in evidence in abundant literature. The resources from the Georgia Lottery are there to support the expansion. All that is now lacking is the action necessary to make real the promise of universal access. Earlier Southern Education Foundation (SEF) reports, especially Pre-Kindergarten in the South available with other resources at demonstrate that high-quality pre-kindergarten services are the South s sole comparative advantage in the area of education. There are more children in pre-kindergarten in the South than in any other region of the country. Though the South lags behind the rest of the nation in key indicators of achievement, graduation from high school, and college attendance, it is laying a firm foundation for improved education from the bottom up. Today, as documented in SEF s report, A New Majority, the South is home to a new majority of low income students, who need all the help that the public can provide to rise above their circumstances and escape from poverty through education. Now is not the time for half-steps. Georgia is a place that is often a trend-setter and pacemaker in the South and the nation. It is time for Georgia to pick up its pace and assume leadership in providing publicly supported pre-kindergarten services for all children who want and need it. It is a matter of enlightened self-interest, good sense, and pride. One more promise: SEF, the South s oldest nonprofit and the only such institution that works region-wide to advance fairness and quality in education from preschool through higher education, pledges to be a resource and helpmate for all in Georgia who want to see expansion of publicly supported pre-kindergarten commensurate with need. In the same way that SEF led efforts across the South years ago to make kindergarten a standard part of a child s education, SEF is committed to staying the course until pre-kindergarten is universally available in its home state. SEF invites all like-minded leaders to work with us, support our efforts, and rise to the occasion. Our children will thank you. Lynn Huntley President The Southern Education Foundation June

9 Executive Summary The Promise of Georgia Pre-K In 1993, Georgia Governor Zell Miller established a voluntary pre-kindergarten (Pre-K) program for four-yearold children from low income families. Georgia became the first state to fund pre-kindergarten with lottery revenues. In 1995, after Governor Miller and the state legislature expanded Pre-K eligibility, Georgia became the first state in the nation to promise a universal, voluntary program to all four-year-old children whose parents wanted it. Shortly afterward, the state began leading all other states in Pre-K growth and enrollment. Georgia s Pre-K program became a model that other states followed. By the late 1990s, Georgia had the largest program in the country and one of the most comprehensive. It also had a unique system of educational delivery involving both public and private agencies to provide public Pre-K. In addition, Georgia developed a program with high-quality standards and provided support to local agencies to help meet them. In fact, more than any other state, Georgia has helped to inspire and lead America in developing an ageappropriate, early-learning movement for four-year-old children that promises to help future generations and the nation to prepare for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. In recent years, however, Georgia has begun to fall behind other states and to lose its national leadership in Pre-K. Today there are other states with larger rates of Pre-K enrollment, faster rates of growth, more comprehensive programs, stronger standards for high-quality, and larger per child investments. While it remains in 2008 one of the nation s better programs, Georgia s Pre-K program is in danger of being out-distanced by the early learning movement it started. Pre-K Enrollment and Access Current Pre-K enrollment across Georgia is little more than 50 percent of the state s four-year-olds. There are many counties, especially in Metro Atlanta and north Georgia, where enrollment rates are lower. In addition, when measured against the state s voluntary educational program for five-year-olds, Georgia Pre-K enrollment is only 58 percent of kindergarten enrollment. The data quantify what annual waiting lists and waiting lines across the state illustrate: high-quality Pre-K is not available to all four-year-olds whose parents want it in Georgia. High-Quality Pre-K Programs Georgia Pre-K, as currently designed, has produced strong results for school readiness. The program s original standards for high-quality were state-of-the-art in earlier years. The design has enabled many children to develop new knowledge and skills. But in recent years meaningful gaps have emerged in the program design and quality that may undermine Georgia Pre-K s long-term impact. Primarily, Georgia Pre-K needs to understand and better implement ways to improve the learning skills of low income students. Pre-K Resources for Each Student During the last ten years, Georgia Pre-K has not kept up with the cost of delivering a high-quality program to each student. After adjustments for inflation, Pre-K resources for each child in Georgia have actually declined since In constant 2007 dollars, Georgia Pre-K expenditures per child were approximately $4,478 in 1998 and only $4,010 in This trend endangers the capacity of Pre-K providers to deliver on the promise of high-quality Pre-K. Time to lead again: The Promise of Georgia Pre-K 5

10 Educational Benefits of Georgia Pre-K Children from Georgia Pre-K are more school-ready than any other group of students when they reach kindergarten. Pre-K students carry the bulk of their learning gains forward into higher grades. All groups of children make important gains. While the program is not yet as powerful as it could be for low income students, Georgia Pre-K has become an essential first step to help children start school-ready and achieve at higher levels later. Economic Benefits of Georgia Pre-K Research shows that Georgia would realize enough reduced government costs in current programs relating to juvenile justice, welfare, education, and crime prevention by the year 2027 to exceed the annual cost of funding a truly universal, high-quality Georgia Pre-K. Within little more than 40 years, the state government alone could receive $1.59 in annual savings and tax revenues for every dollar that Georgia Pre-K spends. In addition, the number of new jobs that would come about by improving the state s human capital through investments in universal, high-quality Georgia Pre-K would more than double what the same size of investments in direct economic development subsidies could achieve over a span of 75 years. In short, high-quality Pre-K currently ranks above all options as Georgia s best means for saving tax dollars and spurring economic investment over time. Making It Happen Again Georgia is fortunate to have the means to build a truly universal, high-quality Pre-K program during the next few years. As a lottery-supported enterprise of state government, Georgia Pre-K has never depended on tax revenues and the state s fluctuating budget cycles to grow. As of mid-2007, the latest reported period, the lottery reserve fund had a balance of $879.1 million, which consisted of $309.5 million earmarked by the state legislature to cover any unexpected need for increased funding of HOPE scholarships and $569.6 million as an unrestricted reserve fund of lottery revenues. Now Is the Time Georgia has both the need and the means to move forward to have the first, truly universal, high-quality Pre-K program in America. Much more than just a national ranking is at stake. Georgia needs to regain national leadership because the future of many of the state s children, families, communities, and the state s economy as a whole will depend on the educational and economic benefits of high-quality Pre-K. In addition to expanding Georgia Pre-K enrollment, SEF recommends further examination and improvement of curriculum standards and professional development, provision of resource coordinators to promote greater parental engagement, reconsideration of lead teacher credential requirements, and efforts to pilot outreach and services to three-year-olds. Research and educational experience now confirm that early learning is a key strategy for educational achievement and for developing lasting habits of mind that help children become productive adults. This is the promise of Georgia Pre-K, a promise that the State of Georgia now needs to keep. 6

11 Introduction Time to Lead Again Georgians have every reason to be proud of the prekindergarten program that began more than a decade ago. Governor Zell Miller established Georgia Pre-K in 1993 after he successfully led the state in adopting a constitutional amendment authorizing the creation of a state-run lottery for education. Georgia Pre-K became the first state program for early learning funded by lottery revenues and was targeted in the first two years of operation to four-year-old children from low income families. In 1995 Governor Miller announced that Georgia Pre-K would become a universal program available to any and all four-year-old children whose parents wanted to enroll them. Miller stated: Today we take the next step in expanding the Pre-K program, a step I believe will be one of the most important initiatives, as far as education is concerned, in the history of the state. Today we become the first state in the country, in fact the first state in nation s history, to offer Pre-K for every four-year-old who wants it The benefits of Pre-K now belong to every Georgia four-year-old to every Georgia parent who has a four-year-old. The rapid growth in enrollment presented substantial challenges in developing and maintaining a consistently high-quality program for all students. To meet the challenge, the state developed, revised, and implemented standards for teacher qualifications, professional development, and curriculum and hired consultants to conduct quarterly site visits to assure compliance with state standards. The program also funded resource coordinators (earlier called family service coordinators) for Pre-K centers with large numbers of low income Pre-K students in order to support their parents role in education, address students health-related issues, and facilitate the children s transition to kindergarten. By early 1999, when Governor Miller left office, Georgia had in place a Pre-K program recognized as the nation s best. Two years earlier, Harvard University s School of Government presented the Innovations in American Government Award to Georgia, the only state ever to receive such an award for a pre-kindergarten program. Georgia had the nation s largest number and highest percentage of enrolled students in state-supported Pre-K. The state provided a comparatively comprehensive program involving more than six hours of age-appropriate learning along the lines of a proven, effective curriculum From 1995 through 1998, enrollment in Georgia Pre-K quadrupled -- growing from 15,000 to more than 60,000 students. The Office of School Readiness subsidized the creation of Pre-K classrooms and programs in public schools, private child care centers, churches, Head Start centers, and other locations across the state. Trends Over Time: Georgia Pre-K Enrollment Pre-k Enrollment 90,000 80,000 70,000 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10, % Annual Growth Rate, Pre-K Becomes Universal Fiscal Year Source: Georgia Office of Student Readiness; GSU AYSPS Study Time to lead again: The Promise of Georgia Pre-K 7

12 guided by professionally-trained teachers who received regular professional development. The program was certainly not perfect, but by all accounts Georgia had America s premiere Pre-K program at the end of the 20th century. Since 2000, Georgia Pre-K has grown much more slowly. Georgia s lottery revenues continued to grow, but Georgia Pre-K funding barely kept pace with the state s growth of four-year-olds. The program also maintained most of its original standards for high quality without substantial improvements and updates and had no real increase in per child expenditures. At the same time, inspired by Georgia s early leadership, other states redoubled or initiated their own new efforts to expand and improve state Pre-K. As a result, while it remains highly regarded, Georgia Pre-K no longer leads in the nation in any vital area: enrollment, high-quality standards, or per-child expenditures. For example, Oklahoma and Kentucky have a higher percentage of eligible students enrolled, and several other states will soon overtake Georgia s enrollment rate. New Jersey, Illinois, Texas, and Florida have a larger total number of students enrolled and, along with other states, continue to expand at a brisk pace. Five other states now provide full-day Pre-K programs like Georgia s. In addition, 13 other states, including six other Southern states, now have nationally recognized Pre-K standards for high-quality programs that exceed or match those of Georgia Pre-K. In addition, Georgia s per-child expenditure for Pre-K programs now ranks in the bottom half of the states. Georgia s path-breaking Pre-K program has fallen behind during the last several years and is today at risk of losing its comparative advantages and full, long-term impact. Without important changes, Georgia Pre-K may fail to deliver the educational and economic benefits to many children and families as well as the entire state. In all primary areas Georgia Pre-K has fallen back and now needs to deliver more to the state s children and all Georgians. It is now time to take stock and to complete Governor Miller s promise high-quality Pre-K to every four-year-old child in Georgia whose parent wants it. 8

13 Pre-K Enrollment and Access Stuck Near Half-Full During the last several years, the percentage of fouryear-old children enrolled in Georgia Pre-K has remained almost static between 52 and 55 percent. The state has increased funding for Pre-K enrollment by an annual average of 3 percent since 2000, but this increase in numbers has barely kept up with the state s growth in population of four-year-olds. In 2000, for example, Georgia Pre-K funded slots for 61,000 Pre-K students who were approximately 52 percent of the state s fouryear-olds. In 2004, Georgia enrolled slightly more than 68,000 Pre-K students, who constituted 55.4 percent of the state s eligible children. In 2007, Georgia Pre-K served 75,299 students, but the rate of enrollment declined to 54.5 percent of the state s fast-growing population of four-year-olds. The Georgia General Assembly added funding that will allow an addition of 1,000 Pre-K students in both 2008 and 2009, but this increase will probably do little more than keep up with growth in the state s population of fouryear-olds. At current levels of funding, enrollment in Georgia Pre-K is stuck at barely more than half of all eligible children. Failing to Expand Universal Coverage: Percent of Eligible Four-Year-Olds Served by Georgia Pre-K Four-Year-Olds in State Pre-K 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 52.3% 53.5% 55.4% 55.0% 52.3% 54.5% Source: DECAL; Census Bureau Time to lead again: The Promise of Georgia Pre-K 9

14 Georgia Pre-K Enrollment Four-Year-Olds Served by State Pre-K Program, Unmet Need 45% Source: DECAL; Census Bureau Source: DECAL Served by State Pre-K 55% Georgia Pre-K Students Served Percent of Four-Year-Olds Served by County, Dade Catoosa Fannin Towns Murray Union Rabun Whitfield Walker Gilmer Chattooga Lumpkin White Habersham Gordon Stephens Percent Served Pickens Dawson Banks Franklin 0% to 54% Cherokee Hall Hart Floyd Bartow Forsyth 55% to 99% Jackson Madison Elbert Polk Barrow 100% + Cobb Gwinnett Clarke Oglethorpe Haralson Paulding Oconee Walton Douglas Dekalb Wilkes Lincoln Rockdale Carroll Fulton Clayton Newton Morgan Greene Taliaferro Fayette Henry McDuffie Columbia Heard Coweta Jasper Warren Putnam Richmond Spalding Butts Hancock Pike Troup Meriwether Lamar Jones Baldwin Jefferson Burke Monroe Washington Upson Bibb Wilkinson Jenkins Harris Talbot Crawford Johnson Screven Twiggs Muscogee Taylor Emanuel Peach Treutlen Chattahoochee Houston Macon Laurens Candler Bulloch Effingham Schley Montgomery Dooly Pulaski Dodge Evans Stewart Wheeler Sumter Toombs Bryan Webster Chatham Wilcox Tattnall Crisp Telfair Terrell Liberty Randolph Lee Turner Ben Hill Jeff Davis Appling Long Clay Calhoun Dougherty Irwin Worth Tift Coffee Bacon Wayne McIntosh Early Baker Berrien Atkinson Pierce Glynn Miller Mitchell Colquitt Cook Ware Brantley Seminole Lanier Decatur Grady Thomas Brooks Lowndes Clinch Charlton Camden Echols Quitman Glascock The lowest rates of Pre-K enrollment across the state in 2007 were in north and middle Georgia as well as in some of the state s metropolitan counties. The enrollment rates were highest among rural south Georgia counties. (See Appendix 1 for county listings.) Only 19 of the state s 159 counties most in south Georgia had 75 percent or more of their estimated population of four-year-old children enrolled in statesupported Pre-K in The state s highest rates appeared in the rural counties of Turner, Irwin, Brantley, Wilkinson, and Glascock where essentially all four-yearolds participated in Pre-K programs. The location with the lowest rate of Pre-K enrollment was Jasper County, east of Macon, with only 18.4 percent. Almost all other counties below 40 percent enrollment were in north Georgia. Pre-K rates in several counties within the state s metropolitan areas had lower rates than the state average. In 2007, Bibb County (Macon) had a Pre-K enrollment rate of 41.2 percent almost 15 percent points below the state average. Savannah s Chatham County (50.8 percent) also was below the state average. In Hall County (Gainesville), participation rates were hardly above 47 percent. While enrollment rates in the counties encompassing Columbus and Augusta were above the state rate, other counties in those metro areas have below-average rates. In Atlanta, Fulton County finally reached slightly above the state average in 2007, after years of lagging behind, but metropolitan Atlanta remained almost four percentage points behind the state as a whole in Pre-K enrollment. Metro Atlanta counties with the lowest Pre-K rates were Cherokee (42.4 percent), Cobb (44.7 percent), and Clayton (47 percent). In fact, eight of the ten Metro Atlanta counties had Pre-K participation rates below the state average. 10

15 Georgia s relatively static statewide participation rate and below-average enrollment rates in several highpopulation counties reflect a failure to meet the growing four-year-old population and their parents need for high-quality Pre-K. Since Georgia Pre-K is a voluntary program, there is no definitive way to measure exactly how much parental demand continues to exceed the Pre-K supply, but all the available evidence demonstrates that the State of Georgia needs to expand statesupported Pre-K enrollment more rapidly. There are Pre-K waiting lists across Georgia at many schools and centers throughout the year. In a questionnaire survey of the state s public and private Pre-K providers, SEF found almost three out of four respondents reported in the winter of 2007 that they were maintaining waiting lists for Pre-K openings even after nearly half the academic year had passed. 1 On average, there were 24 children on the waiting list of providers with lists. One center reported as many as 200 children on its waiting list, while a few centers reported openings throughout the year. The respondents reported that they turned away almost 20 percent more students than they had on their waiting lists. The largest numbers of children on waiting lists appear to exist in those areas of the state where 2007 Pre-K enrollment rates were below the state average. These survey results are corroborated each year when many Pre-K providers throughout the state set up various procedures and techniques in order to select a limited number of prospective Pre-K students from a much larger pool of applicants for the next year s classes. Pre-K Enrollment in Metro Atlanta County Estimated Population Number of 4-Year-Olds Percent of Estimated of 4-Year-Olds Enrolled In Pre-K Population Served Georgia 138,056 75, % Metro Atlanta 59,698 30, % Cherokee 3,245 1, % Clayton 4,900 2, % Cobb 9,884 4, % DeKalb 10,240 4, % Douglas 1,893 1, % Fayette 1, % Fulton 11,669 6, % Gwinnett 12,694 7, % Henry 2,666 1, % Rockdale 1, % Source: DECAL In Augusta, the local school system maintains a lottery in order to select Pre-K children randomly because demand for Pre-K annually exceeds the supply of Pre-K slots. In Atlanta, parents and friends of four-year-olds camp out in tents and trailers for days as they stand in line, first-come, first-serve, at Mary Lin Elementary School where the number of kindergarten slots for five-year-olds is double the Pre-K slots for four-year-olds. The existence of both waiting lists and waiting lines demonstrate what participation rates quantify: Georgia Pre-K enrollment is far less than the number of Georgia children whose parents want them to participate in high-quality Pre-K today. 1 The existence of waiting lists reveals two distinct issues: 1) lack of supply to meet demand for high-quality Pre-K; and 2) need for a management system to match the supply of Pre-K slots in the vicinity of the demand for high-quality Pre-K. The Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL), which operates Georgia Pre-K, reports that it has recently initiated planning and activities that should address the management issue. The agency plans a data system that will provide more frequent enrollment data to identify areas of increased demand throughout the year and to provide parents with improved Web-based methods for locating Pre-K openings. Time to lead again: The Promise of Georgia Pre-K 11

16 Failing to Expand Universal Coverage: Georgia Pre-K Enrollment as a Percentage of Kindergarten Enrollment Percentage of Pre-k Students 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 55% 55% 56% 57% 56% 58% Source: DECAL; Georgia Department of Education Another way to measure need and demand for Georgia Pre-K is to compare its enrollment numbers with those of Georgia s kindergarten program. Like Georgia Pre-K, kindergarten is a universal, voluntary educational program for young children. Georgia Pre-K is for fouryear-olds; Georgia kindergarten is for five-year-olds. Despite these similarities, Georgia Pre-K enrollment in 2007 was no more than 58 percent of the state s kindergarten enrollment. This ratio of Pre-K enrollment to kindergarten enrollment (P to K) is a practical measure of approximate demand and reflects much the same pattern of under-enrollment that Pre-K participation rates show throughout the state. Usually counties with low Pre-K enrollment rates also have low P to K ratios. For example, in Pickens County, the estimated Pre-K enrollment was 22 percent of all four-year-olds, and the P to K ratio was 26 percent. Similarly, Madison County had 30.4 percent of eligible children in Pre-K in 2007 and a P to K ratio of 31 percent. (See Appendix 2 for county listings.) Four-year-old enrollment in Georgia Pre-K in the next few years may not rise to match kindergarten rates, even with increased supply, 2 but, no matter how it is measured, Pre-K enrollment in Georgia is little more than half of the relevant universe of children, and demand for more highquality Pre-K remains evident in all parts of the state. Pre-K Access for Low Income Children Georgia Pre-K began as a targeted program for low income children primarily because, as a group, they have been and are among the most likely students to arrive at school unready for kindergarten or first grade. In 1995 when Pre-K became universal open to all four-year-olds the program s mission of serving low income students became no less important. Georgia Pre-K will succeed in its basic educational goals only if and when the program is able to assure that most low income students leave the program school-ready and well-prepared to continue academic success. And only then will Georgia realize significant long-term educational and economic benefits from Pre-K (see page 27). In 2007, at-risk students primarily low income students comprised 55 percent of the Georgia Pre-K enrollment. This percentage has steadily increased in recent years. In 2002, only 40 percent of the Pre-K students were from low income and at-risk families. (No data are currently available to identify the ethnic and racial composition of enrolled Pre-K students.) 2 If current parental demand for high-quality Pre-K in Georgia were met, Pre-K enrollment probably would not reflect the same enrollment rate as kindergarten today for several reasons. Head Start serves some four-year-olds in Georgia as do private Pre-K centers. Some parents may chose to keep their children home at the age of four and send them to school at the age of five. In this report, we do not define universal as an exact enrollment rate. We do assume that when Georgia Pre-K is truly universal, the state s enrollment rates would be in the short term at least 70 percent and soon 80 percent or higher. For more details, visit the Pre-K section of SEF s website:

17 Despite statewide improvements, low income students participate in state-supported Pre-K at significantly lower levels in several Georgia counties, especially in suburban areas. Forsyth and Cherokee counties in Metro Atlanta are at the bottom of participation rates by low income students. Similarly, Columbia County outside of Augusta, Bryan County in the northern part of Savannah s metropolitan area, and Chattahoochee County south of Columbus have low enrollment rates for low income students. This pattern is explained often by the simple fact that many suburban counties have a lower percentage of low income students in their population. Yet, this explanation does not apply to all counties with extraordinarily low participation rates among low income four-year-olds. In Chattahoochee County, for example, 66 percent of the local school district s students were low income in 2006, but only 32 percent of the county s Pre-K enrollment was comprised of at-risk four-year-olds. North of Savannah, Candler County also reported 66 percent of its public school students as low income but only 37 percent of the students in the county s state-supported Pre-K centers were from low income families. Also, west of Savannah, 58 percent of the student population in Liberty Georgia Low Income Students Served: Percent of Pre-K Population Considered Low Income Low Income Pre-K Students 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 40.4% 43.2% 50.2% 52.5% 54.6% 55.3% Georgia Pre-K Students Served Percent of Pre-K Population Considered At-Risk, by County Dade Catoosa Union Whitfield Murray Fannin Towns Rabun Percent Served Walker Gilmer Habersham Chattooga Lumpkin White 0.00% to 24.99% Gordon Stephens Pickens Dawson Banks Franklin 25.00% to 49.99% Floyd Bartow Cherokee Hall Hart Forsyth 50.00% to 74.99% Jackson Madison Elbert Polk Barrow 75.00% to % Cobb Gwinnett Clarke Oglethorpe Haralson Paulding Oconee Dekalb Walton Wilkes Douglas Lincoln Rockdale Carroll Fulton Clayton Newton Morgan Greene Taliaferro Columbia Fayette Henry McDuffie Heard Coweta Jasper Warren Putnam Richmond Spalding Butts Hancock Meriwether Pike Troup Lamar Jones Baldwin Jefferson Burke Monroe Washington Upson Bibb Wilkinson Jenkins Harris Talbot Crawford Johnson Screven Twiggs Muscogee Taylor Emanuel Peach Marion Houston Bleckley Laurens Treutlen Macon Bulloch Chattahoochee Candler Effingham Schley Montgomery Dooly Pulaski Dodge Evans Stewart Wheeler Webster Sumter Toombs Bryan Chatham Wilcox Tattnall Crisp Telfair Liberty Randolph Terrell Lee Turner Ben Hill Jeff Davis Appling Long Clay Irwin Calhoun Dougherty Worth Tift Coffee Bacon Wayne McIntosh Early Baker Berrien Atkinson Pierce Glynn Miller Mitchell Colquitt Cook Ware Brantley Seminole Lanier Decatur Grady Thomas Brooks Lowndes Clinch Charlton Camden Echols Quitman Source: DECAL County school district was from low income families but the county s Pre-K centers had an enrollment rate of only 40 percent of low income four-year-olds. In summary, Georgia Pre-K, the nation s first universal Pre-K program, is simply not universal. There is abundant evidence that the parents of many more four-year-olds who are not enrolled want high-quality Pre-K for their children. Georgia needs to increase access to Pre-K and to assure that low income four-year-olds are fully included throughout the state. Glascock Source: DECAL Time to lead again: The Promise of Georgia Pre-K 13

18 High-Quality Pre-K Programs Great Start, But Slow to Update From its inception, Georgia Pre-K has had a solid foundation of age-appropriate programs to help four-year-old children learn and become school-ready. Even in the early years, Georgia built a full-day program aligned with the K-12 school year. It required a research-based curriculum, set a degree requirement for teachers, and established a relatively low student-teacher ratio. The program also allowed parental choice and supported a diversity of options in a public/private provider system of delivery. Also, Georgia Pre-K has been committed to independent, research-based evaluation. Only two years after the program was initiated, the Office of School Readiness commissioned an independent, longitudinal study to assess the program s impact on academic achievement in the early grades. In addition, Georgia Pre-K has commissioned a study of how well its standards and programs are being implemented, as well as an extensive assessment of the role and impact of the program s resource coordinators. Most of Georgia Pre-K s primary features were based on the best available research in the mid-1990s and aimed at impacting school readiness. Since then, however, there has been additional research on the long-term impact of pioneering preschool programs such as Perry Preschool and the Chicago Parent Child Centers. The new findings are groundbreaking, revealing important elements for effective, high-quality programs that especially assist low income children. In addition, the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) of Rutgers University established shortly after 2000 a set of nationally recognized standards for high-quality programs based on the most significant research-based findings about how Pre-K can insure positive educational outcomes. As a result, when measured by more recent high-quality benchmarks, Georgia Pre-K has developed some gaps in its program design that may inhibit its full promise and educational return on investment. 14

19 The Perry Preschool study s findings are based on following a group of children who received high-quality Pre-K through their youth and into adulthood (currently up to the age of 40). The study shows significant improvements in school and life outcomes for these children as compared to a group of peers who did not receive preschool. At age 40, for example, the group who received highquality preschool was more likely to be employed, own their own home and have higher earnings than peers who started without high-quality Pre-K. According to High/Scope researcher Lawrence J. Schweinhart, these findings can be expected of any Head Start, 3 state preschool, or child care program that implements and maintains a similar program design. The primary elements that High/Scope identified were: XX XX XX XX well-qualified teachers (with bachelor degrees and a specialty in early childhood education) who receive on-going, effective professional development; an 8:1 ratio for teachers with children from low income families; staff and teachers who visited the children s families to discuss and support their child s development; and safe, stimulating classes operating daily for three- and four-year-old children. The Chicago Parent Child Centers has been another highly regarded, high-quality Pre-K program with long-term data and research revealing similar, positive benefits for participants through age 21. The Parent Child Centers key program elements include: XX XX XX XX parent engagement with a parent resource teacher; a strong curriculum focusing on language skills; small class size; and two years of participation by low income children at the ages of three and four. 3 Head Start is a federally funded program that serves the developmental, health, and educational needs of some low income children from birth to five years of age. Georgia Pre-K has not updated its own standards to fully incorporate and implement important high-quality features that brought long-term success to these leading programs. Georgia has not yet required that all lead teachers have a BA degree, an important feature of the Perry Preschool. Georgia Pre-K s student-teacher ratio is 10:1, regardless of the percentage of low income students in the classroom, rather than 8:1, as it has been in Perry Preschool. Unlike both Perry and the Parent Child Center, Georgia Pre-K has not provided resources for parental support and engagement to every Pre-K class nor to every Pre-K class with a significant percentage of low income students. And, unlike the other two acclaimed programs, Georgia Pre-K has provided only one year not a two-year experience for children at ages three and four. Georgia Pre-K also has failed to meet all of the NIEER benchmarks for high quality. In 2001, NIEER found that Georgia met seven of ten standards. There were 13 other states with comparable or higher standards. The three areas where Georgia failed to meet NIEER s quality standards related to curriculum and lack of required qualifications for both lead teachers and assistant teachers. By 2007, NIEER rated Georgia as meeting eight of ten basic standards. At that time, ten other states exceeded and nine other states matched Georgia s high-quality ranking. Teacher qualifications are very important to the implementation of a high-quality Pre-K program. The 2001 National Research Council report, Eager to Learn: Educating Our Preschoolers, recommended a teacher with a BA degree and specialized education related to early childhood for every Pre-K classroom because: At the heart of the effort to promote quality preschool... is a substantial investment in the education and training of preschool teachers. Georgia Pre-K has not had such a requirement, but approximately three out of four Georgia Pre-K teachers reportedly have a BA degree and most have an early Time to lead again: The Promise of Georgia Pre-K 15

20 education specialty. The state also provides content-rich professional development for all teachers. The Georgia program also has recently adopted new requirements for assistant teachers, a move that should bring the state into compliance with an additional NIEER standard. Georgia Pre-K has met the NIEER benchmark for parental support, but this standard has been less rigorous in implementation (especially since the program became universal in eligibility) than the parent-support programs of Perry Preschool and the Chicago Parent Child Centers. Georgia s Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) has recognized the importance of family support and offered grants for resource coordinators to some programs serving low income students. These grants, however, have been competitive, and DECAL has not funded all requests or needs. A 2006 study of the implementation of the Georgia Pre-K programs by Georgia State University (GSU) found that the requirements for parental engagement in DECAL guidelines were seldom met when local programs lacked a full-time resource coordinator. None of the programs without a resource coordinator approached the level of family support provided by Perry Preschool or the Parent Child Centers. These shortcomings in Georgia Pre-K standards may help to account for some of the relative lag in student learning for low income students in recent years (see pages 22 23) and for some of the reported dip in student learning gains when Pre-K students reach the first grade. These findings are worrisome, but they also could be related to other factors. There may be a need, for example, to improve the alignment of the early elementary curriculum with the Pre-K curriculum. (DECAL reports that it has recently begun a new effort along these lines.) At this juncture, there is no research identifying precisely what is behind these tentative developments. Although lagging in some areas, Georgia Pre-K may offer some important experience and guidance for the nation in understanding the role and importance of peer learning for four-year-old children. A recent GSU study suggests that by mixing children of different backgrounds and family incomes, a universal Pre-K program may accelerate learning among students providing perhaps a critical vehicle by which four-year-olds can learn skills and knowledge from each other more quickly. There remains much to explore and document about how young children learn from one another in a universal Pre-K program. Georgia is in a prime position to help the nation and its own local Pre-K programs identify and tap this emerging potential. In summary, Georgia Pre-K s original standards for high-quality were state-of-the-art in earlier years. The design has enabled many children to learn knowledge and skills. But there have emerged in recent years meaningful gaps in the program design and quality that may undermine Georgia Pre-K s long-term impact. 16

21 Pre-K Resources for Each Student Moving in the Wrong Direction The amount a state spends for each child in prekindergarten is no guarantee of a high-quality program or a successful outcome. But effective, high-quality Pre-K programs cannot be sustained over time on the cheap. It takes adequate funds to hire and keep welltrained professionals, provide them with effective professional development, and to ensure a safe, nurturing environment in which children can play and learn all the while maintaining other necessary elements for high quality. In addition, to be effective with low income children, Pre-K programs must have the capacity to address home- and health-related problems so they do not overwhelm the opportunity Pre-K presents to provide all young children with lifelong habits of mind and learning skills. These necessary components of a successful Pre-K program require adequate financial state support. When adjusted for inflation, however, Pre-K resources for each child in Georgia have actually declined since In constant 2007 dollars, Georgia Pre-K expenditures per child were approximately $4,478 in 1998 and have declined annually in almost all subsequent years. The 2007 per student expenditure was only $4,010. Using a different database and slightly different cost adjustments, NIEER has arrived at the same conclusion: State spending for Georgia Pre-K has declined each year during the last five years. NIEER finds that Georgia Pre-K spent $500 per child more in 2002 than in As Georgia s resources for each Pre-K child have dropped, other states have increased per child spending. As a result, Georgia s ranking for Pre-K resources has fallen in recent years. In 2003, the state ranked 10th in the nation in per-child resources for state-supported Pre-K. In 2007, Georgia ranked 22nd when all resources for state-supported Pre-K were reported. In 1994, the second year in which Georgia Pre-K operated as a targeted program for low income children, the program spent $4,258 per child from lottery funds. In 1995, according to state data, per child expenditures rose to $5,018. Afterwards, the program became available The initial decline in Georgia s per-child expenses for Pre-K after 1995 could have been due, in part, to the economies of scale that can come with serving a larger, broader population of students from families with higher incomes, but the steady decline in real resources since to all four-year-olds from all income groups, and the state s Pre-K expenditures Georgia Pre-K Per-Pupil Expenditures Over Time per child noticeably declined. Adjusted for Cost of Living (Constant 2007 Dollars) In 1998, Georgia Pre-K spent $3,521 per student and the rate of expenditure $8,000 $7,000 $6,827 remained at or near that $6,000 $5,957 level through 2002, when $5,000 expenditures increased $4,000 by about $200 per child. $5,037 $4,649 $4,478 $4,451 $4,215 $4,098 $4,035 $4,185 $4,035 $3,943 $4,092 $4,010 That rate of Pre-K resources held for four years until 2006, when per child expenses increased $3,000 $2,000 $1,000 $0 to $3,979 and began to increase yearly. Source: DECAL; SEF Calculations Time to lead again: The Promise of Georgia Pre-K 17

22 Georgia Per Child Education Expenditures Pre-K $4,410 Georgia now appears to have the nation s largest gap in funding between what states need to spend for a high-quality Pre-K program and what states are actually spending. According to the 2007 NIEER K-12 $8,565 study of state-supported Pre-K programs, this gap in Georgia is $3,768 per child. Georgia Pre-K is spending $0 $2,000 $4,000 $6,000 $8,000 $10,000 less per child today than any Source: DECAL; Georgia Department of Education other state s Pre-K program when compared to the amount 1998 is problematic. There have been no reductions it takes to assure high-quality for each child. 4 in what it actually costs to provide effective, high-quality Pre-K in Georgia during the last 10 years. During the last ten years, the data shows clearly that Georgia Pre-K has not kept up with the cost of delivering Other comparisons also strongly suggest that current resources for each Georgia Pre-K student are now inadequate. In the school year, state-supported a high-quality program to each student. 5 This trend in declining expenses per child endangers the capacity of Pre-K to deliver high quality Pre-K to each child in Georgia. Georgia Pre-K spent $4,410 per student and Georgia public schools spent $8,565 per K-12 student. It is highly doubtful that the real costs of providing a high-quality education to a four-year-old is only 46 percent of what it costs to provide a high-quality education to a five-year-old in Georgia. 4 NIEER estimates of the amounts of Pre-K spending sufficient for each state to provide a high-quality program is based on recent studies undertaken by early childhood education researchers. For more details, visit the Pre-K section of SEF s website: 5 SEF heard this conclusion loud and clear from Pre-K providers, especially private providers, who spoke about rising costs of offering high-quality programs at a series of listening sessions SEF held around the state in For more details, see the Pre-K section of the SEF website: