When President Barack Obama unveiled plans to vastly expand preschool access across the U.S., he singled out Oklahoma as a model–a state that shows the promise and the challenges of the undertaking.
In 1998, Oklahoma lawmakers passed one of the nation’s first state-funded preschool programs for all 4-year-olds. Since then, the number of children enrolled in preschool programs has soared to 40,000 this year, up from 9,000 when the program first started.
Many Oklahoma children now arrive in elementary school so well prepared that some districts have overhauled their kindergarten curricula.
Kim Jones, a kindergarten teacher at Western Oaks Elementary School near Oklahoma City, has seen the difference. She used to teach her students to recognize capital letters, add numbers up to five, follow directions and take turns. Now, most arrive from preschool with that knowledge. “We can jump right into the academics the first week,” Ms. Jones said.