Preschool Program Shows Long-Term Gains For Kids

From CPP: The Colorado Preschool Program (CPP) celebrated its 30-year anniversary Thursday with the release of longitudinal data that show its students have had lower rates of significant reading deficiencies, better chances of graduating on time and fewer incidents of being held back in school.

The findings were released in a report that was sent to the legislature and heralded by Gov. Jared Polis and Colorado Education Commissioner Dr. Katy Anthes at a news conference at the Englewood Early Childhood Education Program at Maddox, which earlier this month moved into a new state-of-the-art facility that was built with voter-approved construction bonds. The center enrolls 223 students in preschool through kindergarten, half of whom are enrolled in CPP.

"I am proud that new evidence confirms what educators, parents and communities have known for years -- high-quality early childhood education has lasting impacts on children's academic success," Polis said. "I look forward to working with the legislature to invest in our youngest learners by expanding access to high-quality early learning for all children in Colorado.”

“The Colorado Preschool Program is setting its students up for success throughout their school years.” Anthes said. “With the first set of longitudinal data showing higher graduation rates for CPP participants, we now have evidence showing that CPP is a winning strategy in our state’s efforts to ensure all students graduate ready for success.”

The Colorado Preschool Program, administered by the Colorado Department of Education, provides access for high-quality early childhood education for children who lack overall school readiness and have certain risk factors associated with later challenges in school. Over three decades, the program has provided funding for 378,658 children.

For the 2017-18 school year, the legislature appropriated $111,245,923 to CPP for up to 29,360 3- to 5-year-olds with specific risks, including being from low-income households and needing language development. Children eligible for CPP attend high-quality early childhood programs located in school settings, local child care centers, community preschools or Head Start programs.

For years data have been compiled about CPP participants, following them through their school years. For the first time, CDE has been able to measure the outcomes at the end of high school for the earliest CPP participants.

The results show:

• The odds of an on-time graduation are 23 percent higher for children funded by CPP than their peers with similar risk factors who did not participate in CPP.
• Kindergartners who participated in CPP for half- and full-day preschool were 7 percent less likely to be identified with a Significant Reading Deficiency in kindergarten when compared with students who were equally at risk but did not participate in CPP.
• Children funded by CPP were less likely to be retained during the K-3 years than peers who were equally at risk but did not participate in CPP.

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