Why is preschool only offered in public school systems on a limited basis?

Question

I recently learned that preschool is only offered for a limited number of children (as opposed to being available to all 4 year olds in the school district) with children that are considered "high risk" priority. Why is early education considered more beneficial to children in this category? Also, what is really meant by the labeling of "high risk" for these children? High risk for what exactly?

Answer 1

There is limited funding for this. More importantly there is a strong case to be made for parental choice in this matter. Many parents prefer other options, from a small part-time nursery school to a full time day care program to Head Start to no preschool at all, and would fight any attempt allow the public schools to decide what is appropriate for their 4 year olds. They need a program which meets their needs and agrees with their philosophy. There has been very little research done on the effect on programs that have been providing services for years when the public schools offer free pre-k but I know from personal experience that it is a real problem and in many communities is limiting parental choice. I certainly don't think we are ready to make preschool mandatory.  At risk or high risk usually means at risk of not succeeding. The programs are usually income based with exceptions for kids from families with other kinds of problems.

Answer 2

I was recently concerned with this myself...My child was finally accepted into a new preschool program at the local elementary school.  Our financial situation apparently had EVERYTHING to do with her going to school.  The only questions on the preschool application that didn't have to do with name, address and if the child is potty trained were that of financial aid given to the family.  I was scared to death that my child wasn't eligable because we didn't get foodstamps etc.  Apparently, if you can live above the poverty level...you "should" be able to send your child to a daycare that prepares them for kindergarten.  So, it's not that early education is more beneficial...it's that it's not as easily attained by a poorer family.

Answer 3

In this case, "high risk" means that due to family situations, finances, and mental/behavioral issues the child may have, being at risk for these factors may affect their development in the future.  For instance, children who live in poverty, have abusive family situations, or have behaviors stemming from abuse/neglect, are at higher risk for learning difficulties.  In order to try to combat these negative forces, school districts offer preschool programs to help these children get ready for school.  These programs (sometimes called Early Start or Head Start) offer not only academic curricula, but also behavior management, and teach social skills to the children who may otherwise not receive such instruction.  Early education is considered important for these children as it gives them the benefit of social skills and academic skills that they may otherwise not get from home.  It is also for children with special needs, such as learning disabilities that may need a head start.

Answer 4

the reason for this is not just a one answer item....first answer is that "high risk" children are those who for a variety of reasons may fail in the current elementary school programs, the reasons vary from health, social, emotional, financial, and many others..and these children do not have the same oppurtunity as others to attend private preschool programs and have parents/or guradians who cannot provide a stimulating environment for their children as most other "normal" families can......

"high risk" means that they are at risk for failure in the school district....or school in general....it means they have not have had as many chances to have access to educational information and enrichment oppurtinities for better success in school and or life....

Also there are a variety of free or low cost options for those who cannot provide private preschool for there children....the largest program is HeadStart it is avail in all states and some other places....it is for children ages 3-5 beginning spaces go to children who miss the cut off for kindergarten and then to eligible 4 yr olds and finally to 3 yr olds and of course there a variety of other requirements too.....

State preschools/block grant preschools ...these are often run in conjunction with a local school district but can be operational in other local public buildings for ex recreation centers, churches. .....

Most of these programs including the ones operated by the public schools are limited in size due to a variety of reasons the biggest one is funding....and size of classrooms space avail...each state or district is alloted an amount of money to operate their programs and each state is also regulated by a liscencing (sp) body that tells them based on the size of the room and or rooms and outside area how many children can be admitted to a particular program or school...and then based on those numbers and the cost of personel, materials(both long and short term) and several others it is decided how many children can be served...in most cases schools can only do one or two classes per year and each of those can have from 12-24 children based on if program is half  or full day.

sorry if this is a little long but there is so much more information i cannot remember

Answer 5

The school system probably only has enough funds for a certain number of children based on community needs assessments that are done every one to three years.  High risk children are those with diagnosed disabilities (and not necessarily physical ones but also emotional and behavioral ones).  These are the children that are most likely to have the most difficulty in the structured classroom settings.  To have them attend pre-school helps ready them for that.  Ideally, if they could have 2 years of pre-school before entering Kindergarten, that is best.