Enrollment in state pre-K programs fell for the first time in two decades after a period of steady growth, according to a new report focusing on the 2020-21 school year. "The pandemic erased an entire decade of progress,” said Steven Barnett of the National Institute for Early Education Research — and it was “minority children and children from low-income families who lost out most." The institute recently issued its 19th annual state preschool yearbook, providing an overview of enrollment, funding, school quality — and the extent of the pandemic’s blow to states’ pre-K systems. “It's unacceptable to go back to where we were in March 2020,” said Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. “Our littlest learners need more.”
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