In our latest Education Station installment, we look at early childhood education, which can be a vital part of a child's development. But right now, preschool, Head Start, and day care enrollment is at its lowest in more than a quarter century, a decline due to COVID that's especially impacting our most vulnerable children.
A little over 40% of our nation's 3 to 4-year-olds attended preschool in 2020 — the first time since 1996 the attendance rate dropped below half.
"That was kind of one of our first real inkling of 'Wow, enrollment is just dramatically different than it ever had been,'" Jenn Jackson, preschool director for Avon Lake City Schools, told 3News.
Census data shows preschool enrollment fell 25% in 2020 due to coronavirus shutdowns, 1.2 million fewer children enrolled than the year before. A large number of preschools – especially in low-income areas – never reopened, largely because of staff shortages due to pay.
"I think in Ohio, it's an average of $12-$13 an hour, where now we're seeing manufacturing firms paying up to $20-$22 an hour," Nancy Mendez, president and CEO of local child care and education non-profit Starting Point, said. "It's really hit hard our Black and brown BIPOC minority populations that are in our urban areas."
January Keaton reports: [ Ссылка ]
