Is Public Funded Preschool the Answer to Our Education Crisis?

My Views Are My Own

By Lisa Schonhoff, Ed.S.

5/13/2025

With so many kids across our nation struggling to read and do math at proficient levels, it makes sense that school districts across the country are working diligently to develop strategic plans to meet the needs of students.  One topic that is brought up often is early childhood education.  There are many who want to enroll more children into federally funded preschools.  

Head Start is a federally funded early childhood program that began in 1965 with the Lyndon B. Johnson administration to fight the war on poverty.   It exists in all 50 states.  The Office of Head Start (OHS) is “appropriated more than $12 billion per fiscal year for programs under the Head Start Act" and that number is growing. Funding details may be found at the Head Start Program Annual Fact Sheets.)

An impact study of Head Start on the DHHS website shows that “in terms of children’s cognitive outcomes, access to Head Start had an impact on children’s language and literacy development while children were in Head Start. However, these early effects rapidly dissipated in elementary school, with only a single impact remaining at the end of 3rd grade for children who entered at age 3 and a single impact for children who entered at age 4.”

Some would argue that we have created a dependency on a costly program that doesn’t meet its intended purpose of improved cognitive outcomes beyond third grade.  Others argue that slashing funds will leave many families without the services they have grown dependent on and could be detrimental to our most vulnerable students. Going forward, it’s clear that we must carefully analyze the studies we have available to us before creating new early childhood programs that our tax base is unable to sustain.  

Photo Credit:  About the Office of Head Start | The Administration for Children and Families