South Carolina Ranked 11th Nationally in 2017 State of Preschool Report
Thursday, April 19th, 2018
A new state-by-state report shows more young children enrolled in public pre-K programs nationwide, with South Carolina ranking 11th nationally in enrollment despite spending well below national average per child enrolled.
"While South Carolina's early childhood programs continue to grow, only 36 percent of children enter kindergarten ready," said State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman. "We remain committed to strengthening the quality of our programs and collaborating with parents and communities as our most valued partners in their children’s education.”
The State of Preschool 2017 annual report shows South Carolina enrollment increased to include 41% of 4-year-olds statewide. State spending per child decreased from $3,319 in 2016 to $2,970 in 2017, ranking the state 38th in spending nationally. South Carolina programs met 7 of NIEER’s 10 quality standards benchmarks and the state has implemented policies supporting young Dual Language Learners.
South Carolina has two state-funded preschool programs: the Education Improvement Act Child Development Program (EIA 4K) and the public-private Child Early Reading Development and Education Program. Both programs are delivered in public school settings via the South Carolina Department of Education’s (Office of Early Learning and Literacy. CERDEP is co-administered in private preschool settings by South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness. Both programs combine to enroll over 24,000 children with every school district offering a state funded early childhood program.
Enrollment in state-funded preschool programs nationwide has more than doubled since 2002, according to the report. Nationally, 43 states, D.C. and Guam now provide publicly funded preschool to more than 1.5 million children. However, funding has failed to keep pace, with spending-per-child decreasing when adjusted for inflation.