Access to high-quality preschool can enrich children's development so that they thrive in school and later enter the workforce as well-prepared employees. Public preschool, sometimes known as prekindergarten, is an optional program and the decision to offer a four-year-old program is made by school boards at the local level. Some areas of the state serve the majority of their four-year-olds through public preschool, where other areas serve a small percentage.
What the data shows
Enrollment in public pre-school had been increasing and was 6,187 students as of October 2019. But, due to the pandemic fewer students enrolled in public pre-school the following fall. In October 2020, there were just 4,746 public preschool students, statewide, a drop of 23%. It took 3 years to recover, but as of October 2022, there were 6,269 students in public preschool, more than in 2019. Exactly that many 6,269 were enrolled as of October 2023, though the distribution by county varied from the year before. This represent 48.5% of all of Maine's 4-year-olds.
In 2023-2024, there was notable variation by county. The highest rate of public preschool enrollment for the latest school year was in Washington County at 87.1%, followed by Piscataquis County at 83.6% and Aroostook County at 80.1% In 2023-2024 school year, only Cumberland County had a rate below 30% at 26.6%. The next two lowest counties were: Waldo, (32.3%) and Sagadahoc (38.1%).
National data is for three and four-year olds (50% enrolled in public preschool in 2021 and Maine's program is only for four-year-olds, so there is no comparable data. See
National Education Statistics students age 3 and 4
