Preschool/Pre-K

Ethan Quinn, 4, stands on a rock while playing with his classmates outside his daycare center in Concord, Calif., Nov. 1, 2023. Enrollment in state-supported preschool programs reached nearly 1.8 million students in 2024-25, a new record.
Ethan Quinn, 4, stands on a rock while playing with his classmates outside his daycare center in Concord, Calif., Nov. 1, 2023. Nationwide, enrollment in state-supported preschool programs reached nearly 1.8 million students in 2024-25, a new record; California was among the states with high growth.
Jae C. Hong/AP
Early Childhood State Pre-K Hits Record Enrollment, But Advocates Caution About Quality
State-sponsored preschool programs enrolled 1.8 million children in 2024-25, a new report finds. But some were higher quality than others.
Evie Blad, April 22, 2026
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2 min read
Watercolor illustration of a diverse group of young kindergarten through 3rd grade school children all holding their own digital device.
Illustration by Gina Tomko/Education Week + Canva
Early Childhood 'Addicted to Screens': Teachers Sound the Alarm on Their Youngest Students
Too many students are entering school unprepared to learn, according to a national survey of early educators.
Elizabeth Heubeck, April 2, 2026
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4 min read
A Pre-K 4 SA student walks a beam on the playground, Oct. 9, 2025, in San Antonio.
<br/>A Pre-K 4 SA student walks a beam on the playground, Oct. 9, 2025, in San Antonio.
Eric Gay/AP
Early Childhood Quick Answers to Common Questions About Early Childhood Education
Education Week answers some of the most common questions about early childhood education.
Maya Riser-Kositsky, March 25, 2026
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1 min read
Celenia Romero reads to her Prek-5 students in the library at CentroNia in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025.
Celenia Romero reads to her Prek-5 students in the library at CentroNia in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. Many preschoolers struggle with handling books as screen use rises, raising early literacy concerns.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Early Childhood Kids Are Entering Preschool More Comfortable With Screens Than Books. What Now?
Screen time is rising among the youngest students. Experts explain its effect on literacy skills.
Elizabeth Heubeck, February 18, 2026
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4 min read
PBS Kids show characters including the title character from "Arthur" decorate boxes at the Arizona PBS offices in Phoenix, May 2, 2025.
PBS Kids show characters including the title character from "Arthur" decorate boxes at the Arizona PBS offices in Phoenix, May 2, 2025. Federal funding cuts have put the educational content at PBS Kids in jeopardy, officials say.
AP Photo/Katie Oyan
Early Childhood Q&A Federal Funding Cuts Come for Big Bird: What’s Ahead for PBS Kids?
Federal funding cuts threaten early education media. PBS Kids executive Sara DeWitt explains how.
Elizabeth Heubeck, January 28, 2026
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7 min read
Two girls using dice in math lesson.
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Early Childhood Play-Based Learning Yields More Joy, Higher Scores at This Elementary School
Teachers who have incorporated guided play into their lessons say they've seen students thrive.
Elizabeth Heubeck, December 29, 2025
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7 min read
Teacher Abi Hawker leads preschoolers in learning activities at Hillcrest Developmental Preschool in American Falls, Idaho, on Sept. 28, 2023.
Teacher Abi Hawker leads preschoolers in learning activities at Hillcrest Developmental Preschool in American Falls, Idaho, on Sept. 28, 2023. A new report on pre-k teachers shows they want more professional learning.
Kyle Green/AP
Teaching Profession What We Know About Pre-K Teachers: Salaries, Support, and More
A new RAND report shows how public school pre-K teachers need additional support.
Jennifer Vilcarino, December 18, 2025
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6 min read
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley speaks during a session at the New England Mayors Convening on Universal Pre-K in Providence, R.I., on Nov. 19, 2025.
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley speaks during a session at the New England Mayors Convening on Universal Pre-K in Providence, R.I., on Nov. 19, 2025.
David Santilli/City of Providence
Early Childhood Q&A How One Mayor Is Working to Expand Pre-K Access
Mayor Brett Smiley discusses early education access and workforce development.
Jennifer Vilcarino, November 21, 2025
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5 min read
Alliance for Community Empowerment, Director of Early Learning Tanya Lloyd, right, interacts with a child in the Head Start program on Sept. 28, 2023, in Bridgeport, Conn. Head Start programs serving more than 10,000 disadvantaged children would immediately lose federal funding if there is a federal shutdown, although they might be able to stave off immediate closure if it doesn't last long.
Tanya Lloyd, director of early learning at the Alliance for Community Empowerment, interacts with a child in the Head Start program on Sept. 28, 2023, in Bridgeport, Conn. More than 100 Head Start programs that are due to receive their annual federal funding allocations on Nov. 1 could go without that funding if the federal government is still shut down.
Jessica Hill/AP
Early Childhood 100-Plus Head Start Programs Will Go Without Federal Funds If Shutdown Drags On
The programs were due to receive their federal funding allocations Nov. 1.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, October 23, 2025
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4 min read
Photograph of the rear view of a 4 or 5 year old school girl with her hair in pig tails and she's wearing a bookbag as she walks into her kindergarten classroom.
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Early Childhood Q&A As Pre-K Expands, Here's What Districts Need to Know
As states seek to expand universal pre-K, an early education policy expert offers insight.
Elizabeth Heubeck, September 29, 2025
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6 min read
River Yang, 3, looks out the window of a school bus as it prepares to depart the Meadow Lakes CCS Early Learning, a Head Start center, on May 6, 2024, in Wasilla, Alaska.
River Yang, 3, looks out the window of a school bus on May 6, 2024, as it prepares to depart the Meadow Lakes CCS Early Learning, a Head Start center in Wasilla, Alaska. Head Start providers nationwide are contending with intermittent funding delays and policy changes that have upended the program for much of its 60th anniversary year.
Lindsey Wasson/AP
Early Childhood Head Start Confronts More Funding Disruptions and Policy Whiplash
Program operators have struggled to draw down routine funding, and puzzled over how to comply with confusing policy directives.
Mark Lieberman, August 11, 2025
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11 min read
Transitional kindergarten teacher Amy Weisberg helps a young student at Topanga Charter Elementary School in the Topanga district of Los Angeles on Sept. 11, 2012. A California law requires public schools to add a grade level this fall designed to give the very youngest students a boost when they enroll in kindergarten, but charter schools say the law does not apply to them, pitting them against the state Department of Education.
Transitional kindergarten teacher Amy Weisberg helps a young student at Topanga Charter Elementary School in the Topanga district of Los Angeles on Sept. 11, 2012. California will require public schools that offer kindergarten to add free, inclusive prekindergarten this school year.
Nick Ut/AP
Early Childhood Q&A How a State's Transitional Kindergarten Expansion Has Gone So Far
California is gearing up to help more 4-year-olds get ready for kindergarten.
Elizabeth Heubeck, August 1, 2025
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6 min read
Students help put away supplies at the end of a reading and writing lesson at the Head Start program run by Easterseals, an organization that gets about a third of its funding from the federal government on Jan. 29, 2025, in Miami.
Students put away supplies at the end of a lesson at the Head Start program run by Easterseals on Jan. 29, 2025, in Miami. The Trump administration reclassified Head Start as a "federal public benefit" similar to welfare so it can bar undocumented students from the early childhood program, but the policy is now on hold in 20 states and the District of Columbia.
Rebecca Blackwell/AP
Law & Courts Trump Admin. Pauses Ban on Undocumented Kids in Head Start in These States
The administration said July 10 that undocumented immigrants were newly ineligible for a range of federally funded services.
Brooke Schultz, July 28, 2025
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2 min read
Teachers Deimy Labrador, top, and Emily Ledesma read with children in an Early Head Start class supporting kids with developmental delays at Easterseals South Florida, an organization that gets about a third of its funding from the federal government Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, in Miami.
Teachers Deimy Labrador, top, and Emily Ledesma read with children in an Early Head Start class supporting kids with developmental delays at Easterseals South Florida, an organization that gets about a third of its funding from the federal government Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, in Miami. Head Start grantees in Florida and across the country now have questions over how these programs will work moving forward under new restrictions barring undocumented students from enrollment.
Rebecca Blackwell/AP
Federal Head Start Grantees Scramble for Clarity on Undocumented Students Rule Change
While Head Start programs across the country operate as business usual for now, a lack of guidance over a policy change raises questions.
Ileana Najarro, July 23, 2025
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5 min read