Nearly one in five kindergartners head to Hamilton County classrooms without any formal child care or prekindergarten program, and those who need it the most are twice as likely to miss out, a local study says.
On Monday, the Ochs Center for Metropolitan Studies released its first report on the education experiences students have before starting kindergarten in Hamilton County.
Forty percent of students whose mothers did not earn a high school diploma — those labeled by researchers as most likely to not be prepared for school — did not attend any pre-k or formal child care program.
PDF: Kindergarten surveyKindergarten readiness* 19.5 percent of children were beginning school without any past participation in child care or preschool programs.* 77 percent were in child care or preschool programs between the ages of 3 to 5, compared to 43 percent between the ages of infant to 3.* When children were between infant and 3 years old, 13.3 percent of Hispanic children participated in preschool or childcare compared to 44.2 percent of whites and 49.1 percent of blacks.
Calvin Donaldson Elementary principal Becky Coleman said the report, released at a news conference Monday at her school, brings to light some important data.