Healthy Communities Assessment Tool

The Preschool Enrollment indicator measures the share (i.e., the percent) of neighborhood children aged three and four year-olds enrolled in any group or class that provides educational experiences for children during the years preceding kindergarten. Southern states lead in preschool enrollment. Southern states also are leaders in the movement toward full-day kindergarten and other education reforms. The South accounts for seven of the top eight states for enrollment at age four. However, Alabama and Tennessee remained behind other Southern states in preschool education and lacked the relatively high Head Start enrollments to pick up the slack. Additionally, three states (Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina) spend less on preschool education than K–12 parity. Early childhood education is linked with health factors such as stronger cognitive and physical development, as well as with school and employment outcomes, which are shown to contribute to improved physical health. Early childhood education, especially in the first five years of life, has demonstrated positive effects on children’s health and well-being up to three decades later, including better reproductive health and birth outcomes. Listed in the Educational Opportunities domain, the Preschool Enrollment indicator is also tied to the Employment Opportunities, Economic Health and Neighborhood Characteristics domains. The Preschool Enrollment indicator is calculated from U.S. Census data.