How well is DC serving its Black and Latino 3- and 4-year-olds?
Select any of the tabs below to get more specifics about different programs happening in the state.
3/10
Quality Rating
Across the nation, far too few Black and Latino children attend a high-quality state-funded preschool
In a first-of-its-kind analysis examining race and ethnicity in state-funded preschool programs, The Education Trust found that only 1 percent of Latino children and 4 percent of Black children were enrolled in high-quality state preschool programs. The analysis, which examines data from 26 states where enrollment is reported by race and ethnicity, found that no state truly provided high-quality and high-access for Black and Latino 3- and 4-year-olds.
How well is DC serving its Black and Latino 3- and 4-year-olds when compared to other states?
What can DC’s leaders do to make state preschool programs more equitable?
Washington, D.C.’s preschool program, while providing high access to Black and Latino children, must provide higher quality. Furthermore, D.C. should increase its access for Latino children – for every 10 Latino children that would be enrolled in D.C.’s state-funded preschool program if they were fully represented, only 8 were enrolled. In order to increase the quality of the D.C. Public Pre-K program for Black and Latino children, Washington, D.C.’s leaders should ensure the following:
Spread the word to Black and Latino families. D.C. should conduct substantial outreach in Latino communities using strategies to increase awareness of ECE programs such as providing outreach materials in Spanish; making clear in all outreach materials that enrollment does not require information about citizenship status, immigration status, or work status of children or family members; and targeting messaging through television, radio, social media, and print media most consumed by Latino families.
Make enrollment easy. D.C. should offer enrollment materials in multiple languages including Spanish, that take little time to complete, and that let families enroll online, by mail, and in person. Enrollment materials should not request information regarding citizenship status, immigration status, or work status of children or family members.
Offer hours and locations that align with the schedules and commutes of working families. D.C. should align program hours with the most common work schedules for low-income families, including shift and seasonal work, and provide wraparound child care. It should strategically locate programs at or near D.C.’s largest work sites for Black and Latino families and prioritize public transit accessibility of ECE programs.
Meet quality benchmarks & report meaningful data. NIEER quality benchmarks are important minimum quality standards that all state programs should meet. DC should report quality data from all of its state-funded programs in order to provide clarity regarding the quality and equity of its program. This will improve outcomes for all enrollees, including Black and Latino children. DC should also ensure that quality assessments and assessors are culturally and linguistically competent.
Support families. D.C. should ensure that state preschool programs can connect families to support services, including mental health services, emergency crisis services, early intervention, home visiting, developmental assessment, and services facilitating seamless transitions into kindergarten.
Support dual language learners. D.C. should prioritize access for dual language learners (children with a home language other than English who are developing their home language and English at the same time) to dual language immersion programs (the state’s most common non-English spoken language). D.C. should invest in recruiting and retaining qualified, bilingual ECE staff and training educators in evidence-based dual language immersion models. D.C. should provide all ECE staff, whether in dual language immersion programs or not, with professional development to meaningfully support families with a home language other than English even when staff do not speak families’ home language.
Diversify the workforce. All children benefit from diverse educators, and research shows that children of color and dual language learners especially benefit from teachers who are reflective of students’ cultural and linguistic diversity. People of color and bilingual people should be represented throughout the various roles within ECE programs, including administrators and lead teachers.
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How is the country doing?
In a first-of-its-kind analysis examining race and ethnicity in state-funded preschool programs, The Education Trust found that only 1 percent of Latino children and 4 percent of Black children were enrolled in high-quality state preschool programs. The analysis, which examines data from 26 states where enrollment is reported by race and ethnicity, found that no state truly provided high-quality and high-access for Black and Latino 3- and 4-year-olds.
Additional State Data
The data used for this page comes from the National Institute for Early Education Research. See addtional data charts below from NIEER’s annual state profiles.
