A Foundation for Success:

Preschool in New Jersey

New Jersey is nationally recognized for its leadership in providing quality preschool to children and families. Preschool is provided through a variety of state and local initiatives. Here is a summary of the state of pre-k in New Jersey.

Abbott Pre-K

As part of a school funding case, Abbott v. Burke, the New Jersey Supreme Court ordered the state to provide high quality preschool to all 3- and 4- year olds in some of the state’s poorest school districts. Today, these 31 Abbott pre-k programs are among the highest quality in the nation and reach nearly 40,000 children.

Abbott high quality means:

·         15 children per class

·         Full-day programs

·         State certified teacher and assistant for every class

·         Sound facilities with enough space for curriculum and play

·         Nationally-recognized curriculum

·         Social and health services, transportation and services for children with disabilities and with limited English proficiency

Pre-K in Other Low-Income NJ Towns
The state also funded preschool programs in 102 additional districts that have a high percentage of low-income children. Standards in these districts are less stringent than in the Abbott districts. Requirements include:

·         Available only to 4-year old children

·         Minimum half-day program

·         State-certified teachers

There is no requirement for:

·         Class size

·         Collaboration with community providers and Head Start

·         Using a nationally- recognized curriculum

·         Enrolling every eligible child

Two-thirds or 7,247 of eligible 4-year-olds are enrolled in these preschools.

Early Launch to Learning Initiative (ELLI)

Last year, even more New Jersey districts were able to provide preschool programs for 4-year olds through the Early Launch to Learning Initiative (ELLI). The long-term goal of the initiative is to offer voluntary preschool to all 4-year-olds in New Jersey by 2010.

Requirements include:

• 20 children maximum per class (15-18 preferred)
• State-certified teacher and an assistant for every class
• Nationally-recognized curriculum
• Must serve low-income children

Under this program, 27 districts began offering preschool in the 2004-2005 school year, serving 980 4-year-olds. Many of these districts have started with one classroom and plan to expand to serve many more children in the next few years.  

Locally-funded preschools. 

An additional 70 New Jersey school districts offer locally-funded preschools, mostly for 4-year-olds. These districts pool different funding sources, including local and federal funding, to provide these programs to families. Many were initially created to give special education students a chance to share classrooms with “mainstream” children. They have grown, however, to include many children. Today, 27 districts offer more than one preschool classroom and 10 have more than 100 students in these programs.

Head Start

Head Start is a federally-funded early childhood program designed to prepare poor children for school. The programs include health, nutrition and preschool for 3- and 4- year olds who live in very poor families. Some Head Start programs contract with Abbott districts to provide preschool programs. 

New Jersey’s success in providing preschool to some of its children lays the foundation for expansion of these essential early learning programs to all children by 2010.