Prekindergarten Education
In 2022-23, the share of schools with pre-Ks rose to 85%.
Favorable movement since the last available data
Benchmark: 100% of Maine school districts will offer public pre-K for 4-year-olds by 2025.
Overview
High-quality, affordable child care is critical to Maine’s economic development. It prepares young Mainers for success in school and supports their parents’ full participation in the workforce, a fact highlighted by the COVID pandemic.
This metric focuses on one component of early childhood education: prekindergarten. In Maine, the percentage of school districts with at least one public pre-K classroom has increased dramatically, from 24% in the late 2000s to 85% last year. The Council supports the Maine Children’s Cabinet’s goal of all districts offering these programs by 2025.
According to the National Institute for Early Education Research, the percentage of Maine four-year-olds enrolled in public pre-K rose from 33% in 2020-2021 to 41% in 2021-2022, nearly returning to pre-COVID levels. Maine’s share of publicly educated four-year-olds exceeds the U.S. and New England averages of 32% and 24%, respectively.
Fig. A
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Maine Public School Districts Offering Pre-K Programs
Maine Department of Education student enrollment data