It could be challenging to tell the difference between a 3-year-old and a 4-year-old to the untrained eye. They are both brief, prone to impressions, and frequently sticky.
However, there is a developmental gap between them. Before turning four, the typical 3-year-old will learn colors and shapes, nearly quadruple their vocabulary, and become proficient in potty training.
Spring is one of the few but expanding number of Texas public school districts that are providing prekindergarten to select 3-year-olds from lower-income households in an effort to assist pupils in reaching these significant milestones.
During a time when learning happens most fast, spring leaders expect that students in the northern Harris County district would benefit from prekindergarten lessons in the form of improved reading scores, fewer behavioral problems, and more experience interacting with other children.
Lupita Hinojosa, the superintendent of Spring, stated that if we want to change anything, we must begin here.
Citing the advantages for both children and working parents in need of child care, the Texas Legislature has required from 2019 that public schools provide 4-year-olds from lower-income families with free, full-day prekindergarten. Although it is not required, few Texas school districts offer prekindergarten to three-year-olds. This is primarily due to the state’s insufficient financing for many prekindergarten expenses.
To provide prekindergarten to a limited number of 3-year-olds, however, several Texas districts have taken funds from other areas of their budget. In 2023–2024, over 42,600 3-year-olds enrolled in prekindergarten programs, representing a roughly 15,000 increase over previous years.
About 2,000 4-year-olds attend schools located throughout the district in the spring, while about 80 3-year-olds attend full-day programs at three locations.
Although financing and room are still significant barriers, district authorities hope to eventually extend the program to additional 3-year-olds.
With changes to fine arts programs, wraparound services, and a campus dual-language program, among other areas, Spring trimmed its budget by $13 million in June to help overcome a projected shortfall.
Taking on houston toddlers
According to state data, only four of the 20 major school districts in the Houston area enrolled more than 100 3-year-olds in prekindergarten programs.
- Houston ISD: 3,035 students, 99.8% in full-day classes.
- Aldine ISD: 228 students, 100% in full-day classes.
- Spring Branch ISD: 260 students, 10% in full-day classes.
- Galena Park ISD: 103 students, no data available about full-day classes.
Meanwhile, state funding to public schools has not significantly increased since 2019. The next legislative session will determine whether programs like prekindergarten receive a financial boost, or whether school districts will continue to stretch resources to cover funding gaps.
Spring officials also know they don t have enough classroom space to expand the program to the hundreds of 3-year-olds on the district s waitlist, let alone all toddlers that would qualify for free classes.
I would take a whole campus of 3-year-olds, if possible, McNabb Elementary School Principal Melissa Warford said.
Numbers, letters and playtime
In the classroom at McNabb Elementary, much of the room is taken up by a rug of blue, purple, green, red, and orange squares. When students aren t squirming at their desks, they sit at the rug for storytime, line up on the rug before lunch, and when permitted, dance and play on the rug during open exploration time.
All of this time helps students adapt to a sense of routine, Warford said, and give them a familiar environment as they explore new concepts.
Over the course of the year, students will learn the days of the week, the months of the year and the seasons. They will learn the letters of the alphabet and what sounds they make. Perhaps most importantly, they will learn how to play with other children their age.
Everything we re doing is to get them ready for pre-K 4, Warford said.
While some Spring 3-year-olds not enrolled in public pre-K might attend the federal Head Start program or private daycare, Hinojosa said the vast majority spend time at home with their parents, family members, or caretakers.
Spring officials, however, believe bringing students into their classrooms earlier will set students up for greater academic success down the line.Their optimism is backed by local and regional research on the benefits of prekindergarten, much of which has focused on 4-year-olds to date.
In 2015, Spring partnered with Rice University s Houston Education Research Consortium, or HERC, to track the academic performance of students in Spring s first year of full-day prekindergarten. Hinojosa said the 10-year study, which hasn t been published yet, found students who attended full-day pre-K later scored an average of 10 percentage points higher on fifth-grade math and reading state standardized tests than their classmates.
Hinojosa, who joined Spring in 2014 and became superintendent in 2022, called the results a remarkable return on investment from the most successful initiative of her time in the district.
That data was extremely powerful for our (school) board in greenlighting the pilot program for 3-year-olds, Hinojosa said.
Spring isn t alone in seeing the benefits of pre-K. Earlier this month, HERCpublished a study of over 100,000 Houston-area students, finding students who attended public school pre-K were significantly more likely than their classmates to be ready for kindergarten and slightly less likely to be chronically absent in elementary school. Bilingual students who attended pre-K were also more likely to score higher on the state s English proficiency test.
National research hasgenerally found positive, long-lasting effectsof prekindergarten for students, though education leaders have cautioned that thequality of the program matters.
Xin Li, a University of Houston assistant professor specializing in early childhood education, added that the benefits of high-quality prekindergarten extend beyond academics.
The classes give students a jump start on social skills and routines they need to thrive in a classroom, Li said. In addition, parents often underestimate how negative life experiences, like social conflict, help children build resilience they carry into adulthood, Li said. She compared the phenomenon to drinking fine wine.
There s a bitter taste, a sweet taste, and all of that mixes together to create the flavor, Li said. It s the same for education. It s the mix of experiences that helps the child learn and grow.
Addition and subtraction
District officials say the response to 3-year-old pre-K from families has been overwhelmingly positive. Close to 200 students sit on the waitlist, and district leaders hope to ramp up enrollment in the coming years.
Even the lengthy waitlist may not capture the full extent of demand, however. The district serves over 2,000 4-year-olds, indicating that the district may still be missing thousands of toddlers who would be eligible for the program.
But with a projected $12 million budget deficit for 2024-25 and the future of state funding unclear, Spring faces significant constraints to expanding its pre-K 3 program. (Spring residents resoundingly struck down a proposed tax increase for additional public school revenue earlier this month, though none of the money was earmarked for expanding prekindergarten.)
Even if Spring had more money for 3-year-old classes, space is a main challenge. The district has limited room for adding toddlers at some campuses, but the available space doesn t match the location of demand. New prekindergarten classrooms also must be outfitted with age-appropriate restrooms and other accommodations for small children.
In 2022, Spring residents passed a $850 million bond to renovate campuses and build two large facilities, but district officials confirmed that none of the bond money will go toward early education centers.
Connecting with families and convincing them to enroll remains a challenge, too.
Three-year-olds who qualify for free or reduced lunch, or who speak a language other than English at home, can attend full-day prekindergarten for free if their district offers it. But districts across Texas have struggled to get the word out to families that their children may be eligible for classes.
To help break down those barriers, Spring opened its prekindergarten program to every student in the district, regardless of eligibility. (The district accepts students on a first-come-first-served basis.)
Even for interested families, transportation can be an obstacle. Only three of the district s 25 elementary schools offer pre-K to 3-year-olds, and none of the districts 3-year-olds take the bus.
In other cases, parents aren t ready to part with their toddlers, Warford said. On the first day of school, McNabb Elementary held a parents Boo-hoo Breakfast to help them process the transition.
There were a lot of tears, Warford said. The kids are more resilient.
Dollars and cents
Looking ahead to the 2025 legislative session, some Texas lawmakers have taken steps to make pre-K more accessible though funding remains uncertain.
State Rep. John Bucy III, D-Austin, filed a bill earlier this month mandating that districts offering prekindergarten to 3-year-olds must hold full-day classes, but the proposed legislation doesn t provide a funding mechanism for the mandate. About 25 percent of 3-year-olds attending pre-K in Texas go to half-day classes.
Bucy, the husband of a pre-K teacher, said he has seen the benefits of early education for students, as well as working parents who receive a free, reliable form of child care.
We really need full-day to get the parents who want to be in the workforce back in the workforce, Bucy said.
Still, Bucy s legislation wouldn t force districts across the state to dramatically expand full-day pre-K for 3-year-olds. State Rep. Ray Lopez, D-San Antonio, said ordering districts to offer classes to all prekindergartners would cost billions of dollars each year, a prohibitively expensive price even for a state forecasting a $18.3 billion budget surplus headed into the legislative session.
Texas public schools could see additional funding this year as part of a legislative package tied to a controversial school voucher program. However, a small fraction of that money likely would go toward prekindergarten.
For that reason, Lopez made a more modest proposal.
The Bexar County representative filed two bills last month that would help school districts set up pre-K pilot programs for 3-year-olds through state-administered grants. The idea, Lopez said, is to use these programs to show why investing in pre-K is worth the price tag.
If we mandated (pre-K 3) without the funding, it would be disastrous, Lopez said. We ve gotta have the baseline that says, If we invest in this project, we re going to see great results for our kids, for our families.
Neither Bucy nor Lopez sit on the House Committee on Public Education, meaning they have little control over which education bills get prioritized. State Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, who chaired the committee during the 2023 legislative session, did not respond to an interview request.
Spring administrators have not released any immediate plans or timelines for adding more classes for 3-year-olds.In the meantime, Spring will continue its program with the facilities and resources available. Enrollment for the next school year begins in April, but parents can continue to apply throughout the year.
The research is there: Investing in pre-K ultimately pays off, Hinojosa said.
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