Preschool enrollment steadily declining in some of N.J.'s poorest districts, report says

Yahoo

14-02-2025

Nearly 10,000 students eligible for free, full-day preschool in so-called Abbott districts are not enrolled, the Education Law Center says. (Courtesy of the New Jersey Governor's Office)
Nearly 10,000 3- and 4-year-olds eligible for full-day preschool in some of New Jersey's poorest school districts are not enrolled, according to a new report whose authors say their findings detail an alarming trend of steadily declining enrollment.
The Education Law Center report found that most districts aren't reaching their enrollment targets, the pandemic accelerated enrollment losses, and just four of the state's 31 lowest-income districts have higher preschool enrollment in the last school year than in 2009.
'It is tragic that these kids that are eventually going to enroll in the public school system are not taking advantage of these two years of free, high-quality pre-K that we have such strong evidence in New Jersey of showing the academic and social benefits of the program,' Danielle Farrie, the center's research director and co-author of the report, said in an interview.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the implementation of New Jersey's court-ordered, full-day preschool program in the state's 31 poorest districts, formerly called 'Abbott' districts. They are named after one of the plaintiffs in a series of lawsuits that led the state Supreme Court to find that a funding disparity between rich and poor districts violated the state's constitutional guarantee of a 'thorough and efficient' system of education.
Because of the rulings, all 31 districts are mandated to provide full-day preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds. They must meet certain standards, including a maximum class size of 15 students, a program length of six hours per day for 182 days with a certified teacher and assistant, and adequate facilities, including transportation and health services as needed. The curriculum must also meet the state's early childhood education standards.
The towns are expected to enroll 90% of the eligible preschoolers in the district, but the Education Law Center found just five did so in the 2023-24 school year: Hoboken, Harrison, Irvington, Millville, and Salem. In 2009-10, 18 districts met the enrollment threshold, according to the report, which analyzed data from the state Department of Education.
Hoboken had the largest share of eligible students enrolled in 2023-24, at 142% (the report notes the statistics can get skewed in a place like Hoboken where young families may only enroll their child for a year before moving elsewhere). Towns like Keansburg, New Brunswick, Gloucester, Pleasantville, and Philipsburg significantly missed the target in the 2023-24 school year.
Districts can see dramatic swings from year to year — Keansburg had 96% of its eligible population enrolled in 2022-23 and that figure dropped to 58% the following year — but a majority have seen a decline in the last 15 years, the report says.
'More must be done to encourage families to take advantage of the two years of preschool they are entitled to,' the report says.
The report notes that decreased preschool enrollment during the pandemic was not unique to New Jersey, citing a census report showing a nearly 10% drop in the number of 3- and 4-year-olds enrolled in preschool nationwide between 2019 and 2021. But despite an increase in preschool enrollment following the pandemic in the 31 former Abbott districts, total enrollment is still below prepandemic levels, the report says. During the 2023-24 school year, about 35,000 students were enrolled in full-day preschool in those districts, a figure that represents just 78% of eligible preschoolers.
While districts aim for 90% enrollment of eligible students, it's not compulsory for them to enroll all eligible students and districts aren't punished for failing to reach targets.
Farrie said a lack of outreach could explain why a district hasn't enrolled most of its eligible students, or it could be harder for districts to attract families to preschools post-pandemic. The state should be finding the answers to these questions, she said, noting there was a 'massive push' to advertise the program when it first began.
'It may be the effects of that initial push are just kind of phasing out and we need another massive communications push to inform parents of what's available and how important it can be for the kid's success, so I do think it's a state obligation to do that,' Farrie said.
The report calls on the state Department of Education to 'ramp up efforts' to understand and reverse these trends.
The Education Law Center wants to see more collaboration between school districts and preschool programs, with special attention to enrolling 3-year-olds. It is also pushing for more school construction, saying the New Jersey Schools Development Authority — which oversees construction of schools in the 31 districts — has identified preschool capacity deficiencies in 10 of the districts.
The center also said the state should provide more funding to the 31 districts. The Department of Education should revisit the state's school funding formula to evaluate whether per-pupil spending in the 31 districts is sufficient to meet their needs.
Nicole Ciullo, associate director of policy at Education Law Center and co-author of the report., noted that as districts move to increase enrollment, capacity issues could be exacerbated.
'It's great to be able to serve these students, but you need additional classroom space to be able to do that and accommodate increases to the preschool populations,' Ciullo said.
The state Department of Education did not respond to requests for comment.
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