Children entering kindergarten need a variety of early academic, and social and emotional skills to be ready to learn and keep pace with their peers. These skills are also the foundation for much of what follows in school, career and life.  While supporting these foundational skills in all children is important, Invest in Children works to reduce the barriers that limit access to enhanced support for lower income families and minority children. Affordable access to a neighborhood-based, high-quality and family-centered preschool is a great place to start.

In 2019, Invest in Children’s Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) preschool program celebrated its 12^th  year.  Many different factors make a preschool site a high-quality site that meets the UPK Program’s higher gold standard. Attributes that are noticed by parents include, lower teacher to child classroom ratios, teachers with higher education and continuing professional development, and programs that excel in engaging the whole family.

A recent evaluation of children attending kindergarten in urban and inner-ring public school districts in Cuyahoga County documented the benefits of attending a high-quality UPK program compared to high quality, non-UPK preschool. A couple of key highlights include:

● Sixty-six percent of children who attended at least 18 months of UPK were ‘On-track’ for Language and Literacy at kindergarten entry, compared to 47% of similar children in a high quality, non-UPK site.

● Children who attended 18 months of UPK scored higher on the Third Grade Reading Guarantee than similar children in high quality, non-UPK sites.

● Overall, boys tended to have lower scores on the Social Foundations subscale than girls. However, the gender gap was 7.2 points smaller among children in UPK compared to children in high quality, non-UPK settings.

The full report by Case Western Reserve University’s Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development can be read here.

As we celebrate these results, we are also preparing for the future and working to make sure that the UPK program evolves and is always embracing the latest evidenced-based practices for engaging families and delivering results for kids.  Our equity-focused work of preparing young children for success is as important as ever and remains our top priority.

Learn more about Invest in Children