More and more Oklahoma 4-year-olds are being funneled into public schools. One national study showed that Oklahoma is third in the nation in terms of 4-year-olds being placed in public schools.
The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) reported last year that Oklahoma scored among the top eight states in the nation. Oklahoma serves 86.5% of eligible 4-year-old children when public pre-kindergarten enrollment (76.3%) is combined with Head Start enrollment, the annual report states. Only the District of Columbia (87.3%) and Vermont (86.8%) serve more students.
Oklahoma was one of only nine states who met at least nine of the 10 pre-kindergarten benchmark categories.
“Oklahoma has a long tradition of excellence in early childhood education and stands out in the level of professionalism and expertise of Oklahoma’s Pre-K teachers. Preparing our children to be ready to read by kindergarten remains a key priority here as we value the health and development of our youngest learners,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, NIEER introduced a recommendation advising Pre-K programs to develop guidelines for emergency services to teach 4-year-olds remotely for the remainder of this school year and for the coming summer and fall.
On March 25, Hofmeister and the State Board of Education unanimously approved an order that implemented distance learning for all grades, including a unique partnership with the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority to broadcast programming tailored to the Oklahoma Academic Standards.
“Oklahoma education acted quickly and effectively to ensure that families with children in Pre-K programs had the resources and supports needed to foster learning in home environments,” said Debra Andersen, the executive director for the Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness.
Oklahoma launched its Early Childhood Four-Year-Old Program in 1980, years ahead of the rest of the country. In 1998, Oklahoma became only the second state to offer Pre-K for all 4-year-olds, with 99% of school districts participating.
Oklahoma’s comprehensive education plan, required by the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), lists one of the state’s six primary goals as aligning early childhood education and learning foundations to ensure at least 75% of students are “ready to read” upon kindergarten entry. The NIEER report is based on data from the 2018-19 school year.