Gov. Phil Murphy has made free early childhood education for every 3- and 4-year-old in New Jersey a goal of his administration, and it seems to be effective, since personal-finance website WalletHub placed New Jersey high on its list of 2023’s States with the Best & Worst Early Education Systems.
Currently, only 11 states offer universal pre-K to their kids. In order to determine the best early education systems in America, WalletHub compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia across 12 key metrics. The data set ranges from the share of school districts that offer a state pre-K program to the number of pre-K quality benchmarks met and total reported spending per child enrolled in pre-K.
New Jersey placed No. 4 on the list. Among the metrics that were measured, New Jersey placed:
1st: Monthly child care co-payment fees as a percent of family income
1st: Total reported spending per child enrolled in preschool
5th: Total state Head Start program spending per child enrolled in preschool
6th: Share of 3- and 4-year-olds enrolled in pre-K, pre-K special education and Head Start
28th: Income requirement for state pre-K eligibility
“Some of the most important factors are family structure, home environment, nutrition and economics,” Gina Anderson, Ed.D., associate dean of Texas Woman’s University, said regarding the results of the study. “A child needs to bond with their parents, caregivers, and/or caring adults who can provide stable care in an environment that is safe and clean, who are not food insecure and practice good nutrition, and who have health insurance for everyone in the family. Parents or caregivers who value education, who are literate and active readers, who read to their children, and who expose their children to art, music, and appropriate play are also very important.”
Since Murphy took office, high-quality preschool programs have been introduced to over 160 school districts, opening seats for more than 12,000 additional children. And earlier this year, Murphy announced the availability of $120 million in grants for preschool facility expansion, highlighted the funding 16 school districts recently received to establish or grow their preschool programming, and announced an additional $2.6 million to assist 33 school districts with supplementary start-up funding.
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