The push to expand pre-kindergarten programs is on.
Last school year, public pre-K programs received their biggest-ever boost in state funding. Enrollment in state pre-K programs nationwide increased by 7% between 2022-23 and 2023-24, according to the National Institute for Early Education Research.
This school year, four states and the District of Columbia now offer universal pre-K to 4-year-olds, according to the , and eight more states have universal eligibility, meaning programs are open to all 4-year-olds but not necessarily available to everyone. Other states are considering expanding pre-K programs, too. This upward trend is likely to continue as state policymakers get behind experts who point to the potential benefits of pre-K鈥攆rom kindergarten readiness all the way to higher high school graduation rates.
But there鈥檚 no national standard for pre-K programs, in terms of programmatic goals or instructional standards. Nor do district leaders necessarily agree on the purpose and role of pre-K, according to 2020 . Other important considerations, from who should lead these classrooms to what instruction should look like, may also lack consensus.
To gain perspective on these and other issues critical to the future success of pre-K programs, Education Week spoke to Hanna Melnick, senior policy adviser and director of early learning policy at the , a nonprofit that conducts independent research aimed at improving education policy and practice.
Melnick, lead author of a 2022 on how to build a well-qualified transitional kindergarten (TK) workforce in California, shared what鈥檚 driving the expansion of pre-K and discussed the challenges and opportunities that adding this grade can present for school districts.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What is driving the push to expand pre-K?
I think there鈥檚 a broader understanding and growing knowledge of the importance of early childhood. It鈥檚 been made very clear over decades of research. And so it鈥檚 not, 鈥淒oes pre-K work?鈥� but rather, 鈥淗ow can we make it work?鈥�
There is also the understanding that parents need to work. As women are no longer as likely to be in the home, children are going elsewhere for schooling.
There鈥檚 also one new component, declining [K-12] enrollment, which I think is why some states and school districts are opening the door to expanding pre-K. If they have declining enrollment, rather than cut teachers or close facilities, you can add a grade level.
Are pre-K programs typically run by school districts within the K-12 system?
Some states, like Oklahoma, have put their pre-K classes almost exclusively in the K-12 system. And they fund pre-K in the same way that they fund kindergarten.
That鈥檚 what California has done with TK [transitional kindergarten]; it is now part of what is referred to as the TK-to-12 system. But what California calls universal preschool is broader than that, because it also includes our state-funded preschools for 3- and 4-year-olds.
Pre-K programs can also be housed within community-based organizations.
Who is charged with developing pre-K programs鈥� objectives?
It varies, and it often depends on how the preschool or pre-K program is funded.
Some schools have an early childhood director who oversees those [pre-K] classrooms, and teachers with specialized, early childhood knowledge. But very often, the school principal鈥攚ho does not necessarily know what developmentally appropriate learning looks like at this age鈥攊s responsible for this.
I think there are two perspectives [among administrators]: Some people see pre-K from more of a child care perspective, and others look at it as kindergarten readiness. I think it鈥檚 kind of both.
What does the Learning Policy Institute believe the focus of pre-K should be?
We have developed guidelines we refer to as 鈥攅ssential skills and competencies children should be acquiring before they enter kindergarten. They encompass social-emotional development, cognitive development, language and literacy development, mathematical and scientific reasoning, and physical development.
Language and literacy development are extremely important in this age group [with] language development being a precursor to literacy. A lot of the language must be in place in order to have successful literacy outcomes later.
With physical development, there鈥檚 gross motor and fine motor development. All these standards are linked, so it really is important that they all be addressed.
Some of these skills sound fairly sophisticated; math and scientific reasoning, for instance. What does this look like in a pre-K classroom?
All of the learning in these classrooms should generally look like play鈥攅verything from free play to teacher-guided play, where there might be a standard behind it.
For instance, students might practice the mathematical standard of categorizing and sorting by playing a game where students are sorting bears by color. It shouldn鈥檛 look like students sitting down in front of a whiteboard telling the teacher which category the bears belong to.
Some childhood experts have raised concerns that kindergarten has become too academic. Could this concern trickle down to pre-K?
It鈥檚 possible, especially when school district leaders only have experience with the upper grades, and their expectations for the younger children are not appropriately modified. You might see a 鈥減ush-down鈥� effect.
It鈥檚 important that school leaders know what developmentally appropriate learning should look like for 4-year-olds. I would expect that the more schools get used to working with 4-year-olds, they鈥檒l be shifting pre-K classes more to a play-based curriculum. But it鈥檚 a process.
What unique skills should pre-K teachers possess?
There is definitely consensus that early childhood education is a very complex art that requires a lot of preparation and support. It is not babysitting.
I think there鈥檚 also growing consensus over the kinds of skills that 糖心动漫vlog should have. They鈥檒l need to know how to set up a developmentally appropriate class environment, and to know what is age-appropriate for these children. They need to know how to do observations of children to assess their development and learning. That鈥檚 quite different from older grades, when you can give a pencil and paper test. With pre-K, you鈥檙e assessing children by watching them.
These 糖心动漫vlog also need to know how to work as part of a multidisciplinary team. Because they are co-teaching with another adult in the room鈥擺the recommends a 1:10 teacher-student ratio for pre-school classrooms]鈥攃ollaboration skills are really important. So is partnering with families and gaining their support.
What other factors need to be considered as districts expand to include pre-K?
Schools need more than just extra space to accommodate pre-K. How that space is designed also matters. You need things like small toilets that are accessible, because you shouldn鈥檛 have little children marching down long hallways to use the restroom.
Dining facilities also require forethought. The gold standard for this age group is family-style meals. But even just having cafeteria tables not be too high for small kids is a consideration. Play structures also need to be modified for younger children as well. These high-cost changes can often take a while to plan for.
There鈥檚 also the long process of learning what is appropriate for young children educationally, and how best to engage families.
What excites you about the expansion of pre-K?
I鈥檓 excited about seeing universal preschool coming to more and more school districts. There鈥檚 definitely the concern that there are going to be developmentally inappropriate classrooms, but there鈥檚 also the opportunity for teachers to learn from each other.
For instance, a kindergarten teacher may be able to walk next door to a pre-K class and say, 鈥淥h, look how much language development is happening here as children engage in positive play [with] teacher guidance.鈥�
