Dive Brief:
- The YMCA runs more than 100 pop-up preschools in libraries, community centers, museums, churches, public housing sites and even beaches in 27 states, offering free early education opportunities to children from low-income families.
- The Hechinger Report writes the preschool sites are open two days per week for 38 weeks for children and an adult caregiver, generally a parent or grandparent, giving the adults a chance to develop networks among each other while the children learn.
- During an especially important time for child development, these adults also learn strategies for supporting the kids' literacy and counting skills to continue learning outside of the pop-up schools.
Dive Insight:
Children from low-income families are significantly less likely to attend high quality preschool programs than their peers from wealthier families. This puts them behind on the first day of kindergarten, and the reality is, they don't catch up. During the summers, their reading skills deteriorate faster than those of their higher-income peers, and by middle school, they are years behind.
The Obama administration has focused heavily on the importance of high-quality preschool. Many cities and states have made ambitious goals for expanding early childhood education, increasing these budgets even while cutting other types of spending, including on higher education. The Learning Policy Institute recently outlined successful programs in Michigan, West Virginia, Washington and North Carolina with a report that breaks down how, exactly, each program gets it right.