Does Head Start or public Pre-Kindergarten enrollment matter? Associations with children's long-term school attendance in Baltimore City

The present study examined to what extent children's enrollment in Head Start and public Pre-Kindergarten (PreK) is associated with their absenteeism from kindergarten to fifth grade. Using a cohort of kindergarteners (5-years-old) in the Baltimore City Public Schools District (n = 7,447), Head Start and Pre-K enrollment and school attendance records were analyzed. About half of students were male (51 %), 80 % of students were Black, non-Hispanic, 9 % were White, non-Hispanic, 9 % were Hispanic, and 2 % identified as “Other” racial categories. Results indicated that children who were enrolled in Head Start or Pre-K had lower absence rates during the kindergarten year compared to those who were not enrolled in these ECE settings; the effect size was small to medium after controlling for child demographic factors and neighborhood characteristics. One of the neighborhood characteristics, measured by the Child Opportunity Index, was significantly and negatively associated with school absence rates with a small effect size. In addition, the gap in school attendance between the Head Start/PreK participants and non-Head Start/PreK participants persisted over time up to fifth grade without fading out. The findings suggest that it is critical to provide extended opportunities for children with socioeconomic challenges to access ECE programs prior to their schooling.