Wake County will offer free Pre-K for 3-year-olds, giving them a ‘runway for success’
Wake County is creating a free pre-kindergarten program to help prepare low-income 3-year-olds for school and success in life.
Wake County leaders announced Wednesday they’re launching the ThreeSchool program for 3-year-olds whose families are at or below 200% of the poverty line. Leaders say they’re making the move now because they’ve achieved near-universal Pre-K for the county’s low-income 4-year-old children.
“In launching Wake ThreeSchool, the county is embarking on a long-term plan to help the county’s most underserved 3-year-olds in one of the most effective and cost-effective ways we possibly can,” Matt Calabria, chairman of the Wake County Board of Commissioners, said at Wednesday’s virtual news conference.
These long-term benefits, Calabria said, include lower rates of crime and teen pregnancy, higher lifetime earnings and better health outcomes.
But families shouldn’t rush to join yet. The first group of up to 100 children won’t be served until fall 2022.
Calabria said $300,000 will be included in the new county budget to get the program started. The next year will be a planning year.
Groups have long called for the state to expand Pre-K access as a way to give students a better start to their school careers.
Earlier this month, the leaders of eight of North Carolina’s largest companies called on the state to expand NC Pre-K, the state’s program for at-risk 4-year-olds. They want to reach 75% of the state’s eligible at-risk children.
But Wake County has reached 86% of the low-income eligible 4-year-olds, meaning everyone who wants a Pre-K seat has one, Calabria said. Those 3,511 children are served in a variety of programs run by the Wake County school system, Head Start and private providers.
With so many 4-year-olds being served, Calabria and Commissioner Susan Evans said it made sense to reach the next largest group that could be helped. Calabria said there are 1,700 low-income 3-year-olds in Wake County that are not being served by any programs now.
Children who are age 3 fall into a gap where they’re no longer eligible for state toddler and infant services but aren’t able to get into NC Pre-K, according to Gayle Headen, executive director of Wake County Smart Start, which will administer the program.
Building the brains of 3-year-olds
But starting pre-kindergarten at age 3 is the right time because brain building is at its peak then, according to Headen. She said quality early learning produces permanent boosts in IQ and social-emotional skills.
ThreeSchool will provide children with six hours a day of “play-based education,” especially designed for 3-year-old children.
Already, 91% of NC Pre-K graduates measure ready for school using early literacy assessment tools. Headen said that percentage should go up after two years of pre-kindergarten.
“The program pays for itself and bolsters the possibilities of everything ahead,” Headen said. “This is a runway for success that leads to a smooth takeoff in life.”
Headen said they’ll start the program at high-quality child care sites that are rated 4- and 5-star by the state’s Division of Child Development and Early Education. The goal is to expand the program over time.
It’s unclear though, Calabria said, how many of the families of the 1,700 underserved 3-year-olds will want to participate.
This story was originally published April 28, 2021 at 4:05 PM.
