Abbott Preschool at 25: Declining Enrollment Puts a Landmark Program at Risk. The First in a Series Marking the 25th Anniversary of New Jersey's Abbott Preschool Program
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| Title: | Abbott Preschool at 25: Declining Enrollment Puts a Landmark Program at Risk. The First in a Series Marking the 25th Anniversary of New Jersey's Abbott Preschool Program |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Nicole Ciullo, Danielle Farrie, Education Law Center |
| Source: | Education Law Center. 2025. |
| Availability: | Education Law Center. 60 Park Place Suite 300, Newark, NJ 07102. Tel: 973-624-1815; Fax: 973-624-7339; e-mail: elc@edlawcenter.org; Web site: http://www.edlawcenter.org |
| Peer Reviewed: | N |
| Page Count: | 19 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Reports - Evaluative |
| Education Level: | Early Childhood Education Preschool Education |
| Descriptors: | Court Litigation, Urban Schools, Educational Finance, Preschool Education, Declining Enrollment, Enrollment Trends, School Districts, Preschools, COVID-19, Pandemics, Low Income Students, Preschool Children, Age, Eligibility |
| Geographic Terms: | New Jersey |
| Laws, Policies and Program Identifiers: | Abbott v Burke, Head Start |
| Abstract: | The year 2025 marks the 25th anniversary of implementation of New Jersey's court-ordered, full-day, high-quality preschool program in the state's 31 high-poverty, urban, "Abbott" districts. As the state continues to expand the program beyond these districts, it is imperative to examine whether Abbott Preschool is effectively meeting the needs of the students it was first designed to serve. This report is the first in Education Law Center's series about the state of preschool in New Jersey. It assesses the progress that has been made in the implementation of Abbott Preschool, analyzes enrollment trends across the Abbott districts by year, provider type, and student age, and examines whether individual districts are meeting the New Jersey Department of Education's (NJDOE) target of enrolling at least 90% of their eligible preschool universe. The report uncovers alarming trends in preschool enrollment in the Abbott districts, finding that levels steadily decreased between 2015-16 and 2019-20, and that enrollment declines were further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The report also identifies a shift in where preschoolers are being educated, finding that the percentage of students in community provider and Head Start programs has steadily decreased over the last decade. This downward trend accelerated following the pandemic. The findings demonstrate the pressing need for the NJDOE and Abbott districts to collaborate on an effort to increase preschool enrollment through outreach to families. Specific efforts should be made to target three-year-olds whose enrollment has historically lagged behind four-year-olds. |
| Abstractor: | ERIC |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Accession Number: | ED672720 |
| Database: | ERIC |
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