LORAIN, Ohio – Nearly half of the children entering kindergarten in Lorain City Schools start school without the foundational skills they need to thrive.
According to data from the district, over the past three years, close to 50% of incoming students have started school without any preschool experience — putting them at an early disadvantage that can ripple through their education. Now, the district has launched a citywide collaboration of early education professionals to confront the problem and figure out why so many families are missing out on preschool opportunities.
Research shows that preschool plays a critical role in a child’s long-term success, from graduating high school on time to attending college and becoming an engaged citizen. Despite evidence of preschool’s benefits, open seats remain in some of Lorain’s 77 registered programs. District leaders want to know what’s keeping families from enrolling.
“There is a large number of students who are not participating in preschool, but we don’t know what all of the reasons are that are making this the case,” Ross May, assistant superintendent of Lorain City Schools, told cleveland.com. “We have our best hypotheses at this point, but we’re working hard to nail down the scope of the challenge.”
Identifying obstacles
The district recently formed a coalition of directors from more than three dozen private preschool providers. Its goal is to identify and address the obstacles preventing families from enrolling their children in preschool and the systemic barriers that providers face.
The inaugural meeting of the coalition took place earlier this month, led by Lorain City Schools’ Sandra DeRivero, community preschool support specialist, and Alisha Pardon, associate director of preschool.
During the meeting, the coalition highlighted several major hurdles contributing to low preschool enrollment. But the biggest challenge, they said, is funding – for both families and providers.
Public school districts often have limited space in their preschool programs. In Lorain, when those spots fill up, parents must turn to private preschool providers – but unlike the district’s free preschool program, the alternatives come with a cost.
Parents can fill out an application with Jobs and Family Services to find out if they are eligible for any voucher programs or education grants to reduce the financial burden, according to Pardon. But those who are not eligible are often left deciding between paying fully out of pocket or foregoing preschool education for their children.
Private preschools are also grappling with limited budgets. The state offers free curriculum materials and some incentive programs to help offset the cost for professional development, according to Pardon. But many private preschool providers are still struggling to afford the quality educators they need.
This creates a challenging cycle for providers: without sufficient tuition revenue, they struggle to hire and retain quality educators. But without adequate staffing, they can’t increase enrollment.
Another major barrier the coalition found is the widespread perception that private preschools are just babysitting services, not places for structured learning. High educator turnover, due to comparatively low pay, contributes to that false belief.
“There’s so much brain development that occurs at such a rapid rate during this age,” May said. “Some may say that they’re just there to play — which they do — but they learn a lot from it. So, that’s part of the stigma we need to break, because executive functioning and socialization helps to develop emergent reading skills, and the long-term payoff is tremendous.”
Taking action
The latest U.S. Census estimates that only about 60% of Ohio’s three- and four-year-old students enroll in preschool programming. However, Lorain’s preschool enrollment rate is about 10% lower than that state average. The troubling gap has prompted city educators to take action on multiple fronts, starting with a push for greater advocacy.
The district has engaged in discussions with Ohio Sen. Nathan Manning and Ohio Reps Gayle Manning and Joe Miller about implementing a universal preschool scholarship or voucher program. They presented a proposal to offset the cost of tuition or offer voucher co-pays to make preschool more financially accessible for Lorain children. While Lorain City Schools officials were told such a program wasn’t feasible at the time, the state representatives expressed their support and encouraged the district to continue its efforts.
Over the past two years, the district has been working on refining its approach with insights gained from joining Ohio’s local preschool initiative network. Learning from successful programs in cities like Cincinnati and Toledo, the district is developing a revised proposal incorporating some of their strategies.
“There are programs in the state that have successfully come up with a way to have universal preschool,” Pardon told cleveland.com. “At the end of the day, preschool is expensive, but we know, as educators, that exposure to early childhood education is important and it sets the foundation. So, we’re trying to figure out what that looks like for us in this city.”
Coalition leaders are using a tiered strategy to address Lorain’s preschool enrollment gap. The first step focused on strengthening partnerships between preschool providers through the newly formed coalition and gaining an understanding of the key barriers that families and educators face.
The coalition is now moving into the next phase — equipping educators with professional development opportunities and expanding their access to resources.
So far, Lorain City Schools and five partner providers are using an art teaching grant, while an evening professional development series is already attracting 15 to 20 providers per session.
Lorain City Schools has also created kindergarten readiness kits, which contain materials to support early math, motor and social development skills. Through a partnership with the Lorain Public Library, these kits are available for loan at multiple branches throughout the city. About 22 community preschool providers are currently using the instructional materials, according to May.
Recently, a coalition member suggested establishing a preschool referral network that could be activated when families reach out to a preschool provider that is already full.
“What we don’t want is to be turning anybody away,” May said. “So, if we’re at capacity, we want to make sure that our families know about other qualified providers in Lorain that have openings available for their children.”
Looking ahead, the coalition plans to build on the success of its inaugural meeting, by gathering twice a year to evaluate progress and refine its strategies. Smaller working groups will meet more frequently to facilitate collaboration, provide professional development and address emerging challenges.
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