The Present State of Early Learning Programs

In America, all 50 states offer kindergarten programs for five-year-olds (Barnett, Robin, Hustedt, & Schulman, 2003; National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 1997). Thirty-eight states fund early learning programs serving 700,000 children between the ages of three and four. The vast majority of these children in state-funded pre-kindergarten programs are four-year-olds, about 14.8% of the four-year-olds in our nation. In Georgia more than 70% of the state’s four-year-olds are enrolled in a public school preschool. At the same time about 52% of three- and four-year-old children are enrolled in some form of pre-kindergarten program such as child care, Head Start, Title I preschool program, or a nursery or preschool (Barnett, Robin, Hustedt, & Schulman, 2003).

Schools for three-, four-, and five-year-olds in the United States are usually sponsored by the school system and are designed primarily for four- or five-year-olds, although a few states sponsor programs for three-year-olds. Although most kindergarten programs are sponsored by the public school, some children attend an early learning program in private schools or as a part of a full-day childcare program.

Programs may be half day, full day, or anything in between. Full-day programs are popular because they offer children more learning time and respond to parents’ needs for full-time schooling for their children. Today more than 60% of five-year-olds attend a full-day program, and about a fourth of all four-year-olds attend full day (Graue, 2001).

In areas where transportation is a problem, some children attend full- or half-day early education programs on alternate days. Some half-day programs are followed by some type of in-school childcare program or extended half-day program. Full-day programs as well may be extended and followed by some type of in-school childcare program. About 30 states sponsor year-round kindergartens in some districts, and many others offer mixed-age programs enrolling children from three to five years of age.

The goals of early education programs differ by state and locality. Your state or local school system may have developed a policy statement outlining the goals and specific purposes of the kindergarten. Regardless, the overriding goal of early learning today is that of offering children under the age of six opportunities for academic, intellectual, social, emotional, and physical growth through a well-rounded program of activities and experiences (Cassidy, Mims, & Rucker, 2003; Joyce, Hrycauk, & Calhoun, 2003).