Source: Bekah McNeel, The 74Million
January 6, 2021
One year ago, 90% of San Antonio’s 4-year-olds were enrolled in school: Now, the ambitious Texas early ed program, “Pre-K for SA” is “crumbling” because of COVID-19. Ninety percent of San Antonio’s 25,000 4-year-olds were enrolled in pre-K at the beginning of 2020 — a pacesetting goal for Texas and the nation. However, as the pandemic stretched on, this system, like many others across the country, struggled. This is crucial and has implications for the future of education, as Pre-K attendance is an important factor of future school success and life outcomes. Efforts to keep private centers afloat have mostly been insufficient. Texas used federal stimulus funds to make up for lost enrollment, but it wasn’t enough to make ends meet. Additionally, the economic recession caused by the pandemic led the state to limit spending on early education programs.