The data for this indicator is collected on an annual basis from the state’s Department of Education (CSDE), measuring the percentage of five year olds that are now in kindergarten who were previously enrolled in preschool. This data is reported by the school districts to CSDE.  The percentage of kindergarteners with a prekindergarten experience are based upon the number of kindergarteners reported as having a prekindergarten experience divided by the total number of kindergarten students reported as of October 1.  The earliest age recommended for children to be enrolled in preschool is two-and-a-half years; however most data that covers children who were enrolled or not enrolled pertains to children ages three or four years old. This data has shown an overall climb from 76% 2003 to 79% in 2014. However, the past three years have shown minor, declines since a peak of 80.5% in 2010. Through the 2104-15 school year, preschool programs Connecticut children could enroll in fell under the following categories: Care4Kids, State-funded Child Day Care Centers, School Readiness Priority School Districts, School Readiness Competitive School Districts, Head Start, and Public School Districts. Starting in school year 2015-16, two additional preschool options became available: Smart Start and the federal Preschool Development Grant classrooms. Children who have not had pre-school experience prior may not have attended for a variety of reasons.

Some of the reasons children are not enrolled in preschool include the following: difficulties with the enrollment process, transportation/distance barriers, schedule conflicts for working parent(s), lack of understanding regarding the importance of preschool, preschool affordability, and available preschool slots within a given city/town/region. What makes this indicator notable and drives the need for universal preschool is the widespread agreement amongst scholarly works that preschool effectively prepares children for primary school, ensures desired enrollment in secondary programs, and promotes success in the workforce.

In Connecticut, affordability and availability have been some of the most frequently cited reasons for not enrolling a child in pre-school. Federal funding has sought to alleviate those burdens in regions where the funding has the highest impact. As of 2014, one in four children in Bridgeport did not have access to preschool education, and there are unmet needs in over a dozen other towns. State funding access has also seen an increase of 11% since 2011; ensuring 12% more eligible children have gained access to preschool over the past three years. The Connecticut Smart Start Program signed into law in 2014 will spend $2 million on operations funding plus $1.6 million on capital improvements funding to provide preschool for 416 children in 28 classrooms. The state also received $12 million in federal funding from the Preschool Development Grant to provide an additional 430 new preschool spaces for 4-year-olds. However, current budgetary issues have slowed the previously proposed expansions.

Public Act 14-39 required the Office of Early Childhood to develop a preschool experience survey to be used statewide in order to gather data about children who have or have not attended a preschool program. P.A. 14-39 and P.A. 15-134 require local and regional boards of education to include the preschool experience survey in kindergarten registration materials for parents/guardians of children enrolling in kindergarten. The Office of Early Childhood’s draft preschool experience survey will be piloted in the fall of 2015. The data, to be collected by local districts, will be useful in informing state policy to increase the number of 3- and 4-year-old children attending preschool.

• Office of Early Childhood
• Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN)
• Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission

• Expand the pool of high-quality early education providers. (ConnCAN)
• Make the quality of programs more transparent to families and providers. (ConnCAN)
• Integrate the various preschool funding streams. (ConnCAN)
• Improve the state’s child care licensing system, including improving program quality. (ConnCAN)
• Put more resources into improving education outcomes for English Language Learners. (LPRAC)
• Finalize preschool experience survey to be used statewide, based on feedback from parents. (OEC)
• Create data fields in the Public School Information System (PSIS) to house the preschool experience survey data.(OEC)
• Distribute the preschool experience survey to all parents with children entering kindergarten.(OEC)
• Analyze preschool experience survey data in order to change policy and develop strategies to increase the number of kindergartners who attended high-quality preschool for two years.(OEC)

Strategies provided by the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN), the Latino and Puerto Rican Affair Commission (LPRAC), Office of Early Childhood (OEC)