Des Moines sees dramatic results from preschool expansion

Nearly all students who attended a full-day preschool program sponsored by the city of Des Moines this year dramatically increased their readiness for kindergarten, district data shows.

Why it matters: Math and reading skills at kindergarten entry are indicators of later school success and children who fall behind at that age are unlikely to catch up, according to an analysis from the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER).

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Threat level: The city's $3.3 million investment boosted half-day programs in six classrooms to free, full-day instruction, but that success could falter in the future without permanent funding.

Catch up fast: State funding only covers part of the costs for free preschool, which Des Moines Public Schools (DMPS) supplements to reach half-day programming.

• DSM City Council then used federal pandemic allocations to expand to full day funding at Carver, Capital View, Jackson and Greenwood elementaries.
• The allocation boosts programming for about 120 kids and will last two more school years.

Driving the news: The most dramatic improvement in the first year's class was in math, where 97% of preschoolers in city-funded classrooms met Iowa's early learning expectations by the spring — compared to 18% when they started in the fall.

• 99% had reached a literacy benchmark, up from 39% earlier in the year.
• Nearly all met social/emotional, cognitive and language expectations, up from 43% to 96%.

Zoom in: Fewer than half of DMPS' students enter kindergarten without going to preschool, per Kristin Rourk, early childhood director at DMPS.

• That's significant because groups like NIEER have concluded that universal, high-quality programs help close educational gaps between white and Black children.
• DMPS, where fewer than a third of students are white, continues to work on eliminating the disparities — especially among Black boys.

What they're saying: "It just gives you pause, and it really shows the impact that preschool has on our students," Rourk said when presenting the data to the City Council earlier this month.

• Full-day programs also better support working parents and help resolve transportation barriers that are common with half-day programs, Mayor and former DMPS board member Connie Boesen said during the meeting.

What's next: DMPS will continue to lobby the legislature to approve full-day preschool funding, which has been one of the district's top priorities in recent legislative sessions, spokesperson Phil Roeder tells Axios.

• Registration for the upcoming school year is ongoing.

Gold Observational Assessment outcomes presented in a DMPS report this month shows that nearly all students enrolled in a full-day preschool program sponsored by the city of Des Moines met educational expectations by the end of the school year. Screen grab: Courtesy of DMPS