SAN ANTONIO – Sandra Mosqueda watched with a happy smile as her 2-year-old son, Atreus, began sweeping the floor with a small mop.
Aterius is part of the inaugural class of infants and toddlers receiving free preschool in a citywide program San Antonio, Texas. This is something his mother does not take lightly. As a child, she herself was not able to start preschool at such a young age. In the case of her two older boys—who are now in first grade and kindergarten—free preschool provided that for them. Success in primary school.
The first five years of a child’s life are One of the most important for their development. Those years lay the foundation, prepare for kindergartenOften setting them up for success throughout school and beyond. But new data from the National Survey of Children’s Health shows that wide disparities exist across the country in whether parents rate their children as ready for kindergarten.
Nationally, the survey reported nearly two-thirds of children were on track for kindergarten, regardless of their family’s income. However, the gap in kindergarten readiness is substantial when comparing reports from the poorest families and the wealthiest families – a difference of about 20%.
Administered by the U.S. Census Bureau, the federal survey offers a glimpse of school readiness by collecting responses annually from thousands of parents and guardians on their children’s early learning, social-emotional development, self-regulation, motor development and health. The latest results were released in December.
Low-income children often have less access to experiences that promote school readiness, such as High quality early learning opportunities. That doesn’t mean those kids haven’t made gains. Over the past few years, the survey’s share of on-track children from families with income below the federal poverty line — less than $32,000 for a family of four in 2024 — has moved upward by a few percentage points nationwide.
Some city and state programs working for promote that improvement By expanding preschool opportunities for children from low-income families. This mission is even more urgent as parents shoulder the rising costs of child care and the widening affordability gap.
San Antonio’s program, called Pre-K 4 SA, is a prime example. It is designed to serve low-income and working-class families throughout the city, offering 2,000 preschool seats for 3- and 4-year-olds – 80% of them free for families who qualify. The program, which began in 2013, is funded through the city’s sales tax and expanded last year to include four infant and toddler classrooms in its new South Education Center. Preschools also provide an unusually broad mix of services, recognizing that poverty creates a complex mix of barriers to kindergarten preparation.
Citywide Early Childhood Programs In recent years they have also emerged in Denver, New York, Boston and Chicago, among others.
According to the Institute of Urban Education at the University of Texas at San Antonio, students who complete Pre-K 4 SA score higher than the state average in third grade math and reading. These results are what Pre-K4SA CEO Sara Bare sees as a significant success of the program: children with the greatest needs receive the same quality education as children from wealthier families.
“The quality is so high that even families who can afford to go anywhere try to come to our schools,” Barai said.
Many experts agree that one of the best ways to promote school readiness is to ensure that programs meet high-quality standards, such as small class sizes and child-to-staff ratios.
Pre-K 4 SA implements a “whole child” approach that develops a variety of skills, including social-emotional learning. Bare said the program prepares children for “not just academic success, but life success.”
The children in Desiree Arce’s class learn to count and recognize shapes just like other preschoolers. But kids also get guidance from Arce on the social-emotional skills they need to test throughout the day, whether it’s consoling a crying classmate or resolving a dispute over who sits where at their classroom table.
“When I look at kids who come, like, where I come from, I’m giving them something I never got,” said Arce, who grew up in a low-income family and taught Pre-K 4 SA for nine years.
Pre-K 4 SA also intentionally incorporates opportunities for children to hone their motor skills. For lunch, the children in Arce’s class pulled turkey burgers – provided by a local food bank – out of aluminum trays with tongs and placed them on their plates. Exploding ketchup packets were celebrated as some students opened them themselves for the first time.
Outdoor play is another important component for improving motor skills. Unless weather conditions are severe, students spend an hour outside every day. In the era of too much screen time and spending time indoors, Pre-K 4 SA students are encouraged to engage in “risky play.” This could mean racing a tricycle around the perimeter of the playground, climbing a slide, or spraying water with a pump. Those experiences teach students their physical limits early on, said Pre-K 4 SA Chief of Schools Tonda Brown.
A major challenge for San Antonio’s program, as well as citywide efforts across the country, is meeting demand.
Bare said more than 1,600 families were on the waiting list for Pre-K 4 SA this school year. To help wait-listed families, the program’s enrollment team connects them with other local options, such as school district-run preschools or private centers partnered with Pre-K 4 SA.
Other cities distribute the demand for a variety of high-quality preschool programs by providing financial assistance to families.
The Denver Preschool Program provides tuition credits to all families with children ages 4 and up. Selected families can put that money toward any licensed public or private preschool participating in the sales tax-funded program, said Priscilla Hopkins, executive director of Denver Public Schools’ Office of Early Education. According to the program’s 2024 Impact Report, nearly 80% of DPP’s providers were given a four- or five-star rating in Colorado’s quality rating system.
The level of financial assistance given to a family is determined by income. In 2024, approximately 1,800 4-year-olds receiving DPP’s tuition assistance were at the lowest income level – up to 135% of the federal poverty line. According to program leaders, more than $21 million in tuition credits were distributed in the 2023-2024 school year.
However, in large parts of the country, especially in rural areas, private preschools are the only high-quality option, but often come with Huge price tag and little financial support. That leaves low-income families with fewer preschool options than their wealthier peers, said Kelly Purtell, a professor of human development and family sciences at Ohio State University.
“There are all kinds of challenges that really limit the role of preschools for them,” Purtell said.
Purtell said reliable transportation can be another barrier for low-income families, especially for parents who work outside of normal business hours.
Pre-K 4 SA’s South Education Center offers free bus transportation to fill that gap.
As the children boarded the bus at a designated pickup location near Southside Lions Park, cheerful bus monitors greeted them and secured each one to their seat. Their bus driver offered each child a cartoon sticker for their school-provided backpack.
The stress of poverty can hinder parents’ ability to provide their child with rich experiences to prepare for school, which is why services that promote family stability are important, said Katie Paschall, a researcher at Child Trends. At Pre-K 4 SA, that means healthy cooking classes, mobile vaccination clinics and even “family cafes” where parents can get help from staff applying for jobs. By eliminating those problems at home, parents can Pay more attention to preparing your children for a better future.
In Mosqueda’s case, having her children in preschool allowed her to return to school after Atreus’ birth put her studies on hold to become a respiratory therapist. She completed a dental assistant degree and got a job at a nearby dental office. No one appreciated Mosqueda more than her boys — her eldest son proudly made videos of his mom during her graduation last year.
“It’s showing them that you can still do anything, no matter what comes your way, and having the help to do that makes it possible,” she said.
Data journalist Todd Feathers contributed reporting.
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