TOPIC

Access, quality & alignment in early childhood education

Early Childhood Eduction

More than 24 million children ages 5 and younger live in the United States, and about one in eight of them—a little over 3 million—lives in California. Given the rapid brain development during a child’s first five years of life, which lays the foundation for all future learning, California has a compelling interest and responsibility to ensure that programs for young children provide a safe, socially supportive, and effective educational environment.

Considerable research shows that children attending high-quality preschool programs receive significant benefits. California has many good providers; but for a state that once led the nation in early childhood education, early childhood education today is marked by diminished investments in quality, low wages, and highly fractured oversight and implementation.

PACE’s work related to early childhood education is designed to help policymakers understand the challenges in current state policies and develop paths forward toward a high-quality, aligned early childhood system that benefits all California children.

Recent Topic Publications
Promising Practices for Preschool and Transitional Kindergarten
How California Districts Create Access and Coherent Systems
California’s ambitious investment in Universal Transitional Kindergarten (UTK) reflects a commitment to providing access to UTK for all 4-year-olds in public schools by the 2025–26 academic year. However, the implementation of transitional…
Assessing Transitional Kindergarten’s Impact on Elementary School Trajectories
California’s Transitional Kindergarten (TK) program provides an additional year of schooling within the K–12 system that aims to prepare children for kindergarten. Launched a decade ago with limited eligibility, the program will be expanded to all…
California’s Major Investment in Universal Transitional Kindergarten
What Districts Need to Fulfill Its Promise
California's Universal Transitional Kindergarten (UTK) faces challenges as districts prioritize meeting state requirements, hindering focus on quality. To address this, the state can incentivize districts by setting a vision, establishing goals, and…
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As California’s elementary schools reopen after prolonged physical closure due to COVID-19, attention to healing the school community will be essential. Although there is wide variation in the timing and formats with which schools plan to reopen, it…