Connecticut

Overview of Pre-K Program-Connecticut School Readiness

Open to three- to five-year-old children who reside in a priority school district or in 1 of the 50 lowest wealth towns in the state.
At least 60 percent of the children enrolled must be at or below 75 percent of the State Median Income.
Funded by the state budget process. Funds are given directly to priority school districts and are awarded to other communities through a competitive grant process.
Programs are offered in elementary schools, Head Start centers, and public and private child care centers.
Jointly funded by Connecticut’s Departments of Education and Social Services.
Administered by the Connecticut Department of Education.

1997 School Readiness Program established to improve access to preschool services for three and four year old children.
2005 Connecticut Early Childhood Cabinet established with a vision to promote school readiness for every child in the state and enable them to meet state learning benchmarks by the end of the third grade.
2006 Ready by 5 and Fine by 9 initiative released by Early Childhood Education Cabinet with a goal of making state-funded pre-k available for all children living at or below 185 percent of the Federal Poverty Level
2006 Governor establishes Early Childhood Research and Policy which later releases the Early Childhood Investment Plan, a five year plan for school readiness.
2007 Budget increased to provide an additional 4,000 low-income three and four year olds access to quality pre-k programs. Goal established to serve all pre-k aged children by 2015.
2009 Program serves 18,475 children.

Evaluations of Connecticut’s Pre-K Program

School Readiness Research and Benchmarks This looks at data from several studies focusing on pre-k in certain communities in CT.