What it Takes to Remain A Pre-K Leader in Georgia

Yesterday we wrote about a new report on southern states’ efforts to improve early-education. Another new report, on Georgia’s pre-k program, shows that that there is always room for improvement, even for states at the head of the pack. Georgia was the first state in the country to offer universal pre-kindergarten for every four-year-old, beginning in 1995. In doing so it helped launch today’s national pre-k movement. Now in its 13^th year, Georgia’s Bright from the Start pre-k program needs to refocus on improving both enrollment and quality if it wants to remain a pacesetter for the national pre-k movement.

The report, prepared by the Southern Education Foundation (SEF), found that while all Georgia four-year-olds are eligible for the state pre-k program, many currently lack access to it. Georgia’s pre-k program currently enrolls just over 54 percent of four-year-olds, with enrollment rates as low as 42 percent in some metro Atlanta counties. Georgia’s pre-k program is voluntary, but low enrollment rates aren’t due to a lack of demand: Atlanta-area parents are known to camp out on the sidewalk overnight to reserve pre-k spots for their children. Rather, low enrollment rates are due to lack of slots in pre-k classrooms, as well as weak outreach to parents of children who most need pre-k.

The report raises partiuclar concern about relatively low pre-k enrollment rates for low-income and “at risk children,” who currently comprise 50 percent of total pre-k enrollment in Georgia. In many Georgia counties, only half of low-income four-year olds are enrolled in pre-k, meaning that many of the children who most need an extra boost from pre-k are missing out. The report’s authors recommend increased outreach to boost enrollment rates to 80 percent within the next five years. (The goal reflects what SEF estimates actual statewide demand for pre-k to be, after factoring out parents who don’t want to enroll their children.) Today only 19 of 159 Georgia counties have met that goal. The report also recommends that Georgia establish a pilot pre-k program for 3-year olds. Several states, including Illinois and the District of Columbia have committed to provide universal pre-k access for 3-year-olds in the near future, and Georgia, which doesn’t serve any 3-year-olds in pre-k, is falling behind.

The SEF report also raises concerns about the quality of Georgia pre-k programs. Georgia pre-k already rates pretty well in terms of quality, meeting 9 of 10 NIEER quality benchmarks. But the one benchmark it’s missing is a big one: Georgia doesn’t require pre-k teachers to hold a B.A. degree. The state also needs to do a better job of providing professional development to raise the skills of teachers and administrators and keep them up-to-date on new research about what works in early education. Georgia does require all programs to use an approved pre-k curriculum, but the report suggests that curricula and parent involvement programs are implemented unevenly, leading to variation in quality and outcomes. We’d add that Georgia could do a better job in aligning pre-k teaching and curricula offered by its diverse providers with the standards and curriculum in the public schools children will attend after pre-k. Arkansas, just a few states over, offers some useful lessons on how to do that.

SEF recommends improving better focus and organization to improve quality in Georgia’s state-funded pre-k program. Another recommendation is more money. The Georgia pre-k program, which is funded entirely by lottery revenues, spends $4,010 per student, down from $6,827 in 1995 (numbers are adjusted for inflation). Annual allocations for pre-k statewide have increased by just 3 percent a year since 2000. Yet the lottery fund has quadrupled since 1998, and the portion of the fund set aside for unrestricted funds has grown by $570 million since 2003, indicating that there is plenty of money available to fund and enhance the state pre-k program.

The SEF report is a good reminder that even leading states can’t rest on their laurels when it comes to early education-maintaining high-quality programs and improving outcomes for children requires ongoing effort and investment. This report has also sparked some lively discussion in Georgia and nationally, and we’ll continue watching the state to see if it generates and policy changes as well.