April 2009: Early Childhood Education

State-funded preschool providers are being asked this year to craft strategies for finding and enrolling hard-to-reach youngsters—children whose family or life circumstances put them at the highest risk of academic failure. Serving the hard-to-reach is front and center on the state’s preschool agenda.

Cover Stories

• More than just a welcome mat Illinois has won national recognition for its Preschool for All program, and ranks first in the nation for providing preschool to 3-year-olds. A new agenda is now on the horizon: Find and enroll youngsters who are the most at-risk of academic failure, including children of immigrants and those who are homeless.
  
• In and out of preschool A mother of four moves five times in two years. Sporadic preschool access leaves her children at risk of falling behind their peers.
  
• Serving newcomers Less than half of the children of immigrant parents are in preschool, one study found. Advocates say families need extra help navigating the pre-k maze.
  
• Hitting the streets Going door-to-door to find children and bring them to preschool is the norm for Blue Island District 130.
  
• Going beyond home care A program that started out serving hard-to-reach preschoolers in the Austin neighborhood has since spread to suburbs south and west of the city.
  
• Working families face preschool dilemma Working parents who can’t afford private preschool but are not eligible for subsidies are among the toughest to serve when it comes to early education.
  
• Reaching into the home Home visiting programs show families how to help infants and toddlers get ready for preschool.
  

Letter From the Editor Knocking down barriers to free preschool It took years, some would say decades, to get universal preschool off the ground in Illinois. So when Preschool for All got a green light three years ago, it was cause for celebration, especially among early childhood education advocates who had worked assiduously behind the scenes and on the frontlines to make it happen. But then, a curious thing happened. In some places, shiny new preschool classrooms set up shop, and nobody came.