Support Services Offered to Prekindergarten Children in Public Schools

The survey gathered information on the provision of three student support services-transportation, meals, and extended day care-to prekindergarten children at regular and special education public elementary schools. The resulting data address questions such as the following:

• What percentage of public elementary schools with prekindergarten classes offered these services to prekindergarten children during the 2000-2001 school year?
• What percentage of prekindergarten children received the services?

Public Schools Offering Support Services to Prekindergarten Children

Preliminary analysis of the survey data indicated that the likelihood of public schools providing these support services to prekindergarten children was related to several school characteristics (e.g., school size, locale, region, and percent minority enrollment) and also to prekindergarten class schedule. Regression analysis was conducted to determine the nature of these relationships. Of the 19,900 public elementary schools with prekindergarten classes during the 2000-2001 school year, 79 percent reported that prekindergarten children received transportation services³² (Table 15). Overall, prekindergarten children in 84 percent of small schools and 82 percent of midsized schools received transportation services, compared with children in 72 percent of large schools. This overall relationship, however, varied by class schedule. Among schools with full-day prekindergarten classes only, no significant differences by school size were observed (85 percent of small schools, 78 percent of midsized schools, and 81 percent of large schools). However, among schools with half-day prekindergarten classes only, the likelihood that prekindergarten children in the school received transportation declined as school size increased (ranging from 86 percent among small schools to 62 percent among large schools).³³

The percentage of public schools with prekindergarten children receiving transportation services also varied by locale: 91 percent of rural/small town schools and 84 percent of urban fringe/large town schools reported that prekindergarten children received transportation services, compared with 60 percent of city schools.

Public schools in the Southeast (89 percent) and Central region (83 percent) were more likely to report prekindergarten children receiving transportation services than public schools in the Northeast and the West (71 percent for both). Moreover, among the schools that offered full-day prekindergarten classes only, those in the Northeast were least likely to report that prekindergarten children received transportation services (48 percent compared with 78 percent in the West, 81 percent in the Central region, and 87 percent in the Southeast). Among schools with half-day prekindergarten classes only, schools in the West were less likely than those in the Central region or Southeast to report that prekindergarten children received transportation (66 percent compared with 83 and 95 percent, respectively).

Differences in the likelihood that public schools reported prekindergarten children receiving transportation services also occurred by percent minority enrollment and poverty concentration. Sixty-five percent of schools with the highest percent minority enrollment reported that prekindergarten children received transportation services, compared with 86 to 90 percent of schools with lower percent minority enrollments. Similarly, schools with 75 percent or more of students eligible to receive free or reduced-price lunch were less likely to report that prekindergarten children received transporttation services than schools with lower poverty concentrations (64 percent versus 83 to 94 percent).

About three-quarters (74 percent) of public elementary schools with prekindergarten classes indicated that they provided meals to their prekindergarten children.³⁴ Class schedule influenced the overall likelihood: 97 percent of the schools that offered full-day prekindergarten classes only, compared with 57 percent of the schools that offered half-day classes only, provided meals to their prekindergarten children. Schools in the Southeast were more likely than schools in the other regions to provide meals; 96 percent of the schools in the Southeast, compared with 76 percent of schools in the West, 58 percent of schools in the Northeast, and 57 percent of schools in the Central region, provided meals to prekindergarten children.

Provision of meals also varied by percent minority enrollment, with proportionally more schools with the highest percent minority enrollment than other schools (88 percent versus 55 to 77 percent) providing the service. Minority enrollment and class schedule interacted to affect this relationship. No significant difference was detected in the likelihood of providing meals among the schools with full-day prekindergarten classes only.

However, among the schools with half-day prekindergarten classes only, there was a positive relationship between percent minority enrollment and the likelihood that schools provided the service, ranging from 41 percent of schools with the lowest minority enrollment to 79 percent of schools with the highest minority enrollment.³⁵ Overall, as poverty concentration increased, the likelihood that public schools provided meals to prekindergarten children increased-from 47 percent for schools with the lowest poverty concentration to 92 percent for schools with the highest poverty concentration. This pattern was not observed among schools with full-day prekindergarten classes only, where no difference was detected by poverty concentration. However, the pattern seen among elementary schools overall was present among schools with half-day prekindergarten classes only: the likelihood ranged from 29 percent of schools with the lowest poverty concentration to 84 percent of schools with the highest poverty concentration.³⁶

Eighteen percent of all public elementary schools with prekindergarten classes provided extended day care to prekindergarten children. A higher percentage of schools with full-day prekindergarten classes only than schools with half-day classes only offered this service (26 percent versus 12 percent, respectively).

Prekindergarten Children Receiving Support Services in Public Schools

This survey asked public schools to report the number of prekindergarten children receiving transportation, meals, and extended day services during the 2000-2001 school year. During the 1997-98 school year, about 57 percent of all public school children were transported "at public expense," and approximately 4 percent of all elementary school students participated in extended day programs (Snyder 2001). The findings from this FRSS survey indicate that 52 percent of all public school prekindergarten children received transportation services during the 2000-2001 school year (Table 16). The likelihood that children received this service was negatively related to school size, with children in small schools being most likely to receive transportation (64 percent), followed by children in midsized schools (52 percent), and then by children in large schools (43 percent). In addition, the likelihood that the children received transportation services varied by locale and region.

Prekindergarten children in city schools were least likely to receive the service (37 percent); 55 percent of children in urban fringe/large town schools and 68 percent of children in rural/small town schools received transportation services. Sixty-three percent of children in schools in the Southeast and 61 percent in schools in the Central region received the service, compared with 39 percent of children in schools in the Northeast and 43 percent of children in schools in the West.

Percent minority enrollment and poverty concentration also were related to the likelihood that prekindergarten children received transportation services. Forty-one percent of the prekindergarten children in schools with the highest percent minority enrollment received transportation services; the percentage of children in other schools receiving this service ranged from 58 percent to 64 percent. Forty-four percent of the prekindergarten children in schools with the highest poverty concentration received transportation services, whereas 62 percent of children in schools with 35 to 49 percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch received transportation services.

A program fact sheet published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture indicates that during fiscal year 2000, the National School Lunch Program provided lunch to about 27.4 million public and private school students nationwide including full-price, reduced-price, and free lunches (U.S. Department of Agriculture 2001). NCES reported that 46.9 million students attended public schools (Bairu 2001) and 5.2 million attended private schools (Broughman and Colaciello 2001) during the 1999-2000 school year. Therefore, roughly 53 percent of all public and private school students received lunch through the National School Lunch Program.

This FRSS survey found that 64 percent of public school prekindergarten children received meals at school, and the likelihood that children received meals varied by all the school characteristics except school size. Seventy-three percent of children in city schools compared with 56 percent of children in urban fringe/large town schools received meals. Children in schools in the Southeast were more likely than children in any other region to receive meals at school (93 percent compared with 50 to 63 percent). The greater the percent minority enrollment at the school, the more likely prekindergarten children were to receive meals, ranging from 41 percent in schools with the lowest percent minority enrollment to 77 percent in schools with the highest percent minority enrollment. There was a similar relationship between poverty concentration and receipt of meals; the likelihood of prekindergarten children receiving meals at school ranged from 25 percent in schools with the lowest poverty concentration to 87 percent in schools with the highest poverty concentration.

Overall, 5 percent of prekindergarten children in public schools received extended day care at school. Prekindergarten children from schools with percent minority enrollment between 6 and 20 percent were less likely to receive extended day care than were children from schools with 21 to 49 percent minority enrollment and schools with 50 percent or more minority enrollment (2 percent versus 7 percent).

³² Schools were asked to report the number of children receiving each service. A school is considered to have prekindergarten children receiving the service if at least one child received the service during the 2000-2001 school year.

³³ It is important to note that school size and locale are related, with city schools typically being larger than rural schools. Because of the relatively small sample size used in this study, it is difficult to separate the independent effects of these variables. Their existence, however, should be considered in the interpretation of these data.

³⁴ Schools were instructed to exclude snacks.

³⁵ Percent minority enrollment is associated with poverty concentration. Since poverty concentration is based on eligibility for free and reduced-price meals, an association bet ween percent minority enrollment and the provision of meals might be expected.

³⁶ Since poverty concentration is based on eligibility for free and reduced-price meals, an association between it and the provision of meals might be expected.

Top