NORC Evaluation Finds City-Funded Preschool Helps Alleviate Shortage, Improves Child & Family Outcomes
Free preschool pilot program in Tempe, Arizona, benefits student readiness, as well as parents’ employment and education opportunities
CHICAGO, August 13, 2024—A new evaluation by NORC at the University of Chicago finds that Tempe, Arizona’s free preschool pilot program, Tempe PRE (2017-present), increased kindergarten readiness and expanded opportunities for parents to obtain more employment, training, and education. The evaluation was funded by a $1.3 million grant from Helios Education Foundation.
The City of Tempe worked with the Tempe Elementary School District and philanthropic organizations to launch Tempe PRE, a $6 million, two-year pilot preschool program housed within classrooms in two of the city’s school districts. The free, full-day program also provided before- and after-school care to make it accessible to working families, many of whom did not have access to preschool options. In fact, a 2017 study found only about one-third of the city’s three- and four-year-olds were enrolled in preschool, leaving more than 1,000 preschoolers unserved per year.
“Across the nation, as of 2019, 47 percent of four-year-old children from low-income backgrounds were not enrolled in a preschool program,” said Marc Hernandez, the director of NORC’s Early Childhood Research & Practice Collaborative. “There is a greater demand than supply, and programs that are available are often expensive, with insufficient subsidized options that meet low-income and working families’ needs.”
The Tempe PRE program hired certified teachers and paid them salaries and benefits commensurate with the district’s kindergarten teacher compensation. The teachers underwent training on how to implement an evidence-based curriculum that emphasizes student-led learning, building social-emotional skills, and empowering students to resolve interpersonal conflicts.
“Across the nation, as of 2019, 47 percent of four-year-old children from low-income backgrounds were not enrolled in a preschool program.”
NORC’s Early Childhood Research & Practice Collaborative worked with local partners to evaluate the program’s impact. Through classroom observation and interviews with principals, teachers, and parents, NORC found that the program’s curriculum was faithfully implemented despite pandemic-related disruptions and benefited both students and their families. Participating students were more prepared for kindergarten and had better vocabulary and social-emotional skills than their peers. NORC shared these results in real time with local partners, allowing them to continuously improve the program.
“NORC’s evaluation allowed us to demonstrate the pilot program’s success to Tempe city councilmembers, who then committed ongoing funding for the program,” said Tim Burch, Tempe’s Community Health & Human Services director. “By clearly defining the program’s benefits, we were able to expand our reach to more children and families who otherwise would not have had access to this education and care.”
The program’s partners are also now sharing their insights and evaluation results with other cities facing similar preschool access problems. In response to community demand, the city expanded the Tempe PRE program to offer tuition on a sliding scale based on family income.
About NORC at the University of Chicago
NORC at the University of Chicago conducts research and analysis that decision-makers trust. As a nonpartisan research organization and a pioneer in measuring and understanding the world, we have studied almost every aspect of the human experience and every major news event for more than eight decades. Today, we partner with government, corporate, and nonprofit clients around the world to provide the objectivity and expertise necessary to inform the critical decisions facing society.
Contact: For more information, please contact Eric Young at NORC at young-eric@norc.org or (703) 217-6814 (cell).