It is not easy to produce an image that captures a community’s desire for preschool. But Catalyst Chicago, an independent newspaper that focuses on the Chicago Public Schools, has come close. Its story last week, written by Rebecca Harris, displays two maps that speak volumes about the pent-up demand for preschool and the lack of funding to meet it.
Using online mapping programs, the newspaper plotted the locations of centers that have the longest waiting lists for the state's Preschool for All program. The image shows the greater Chicago area covered in little flags -- 39 sites with waiting lists. In the Chicago Public Schools alone, more than 2,000 children are on waiting lists. The early childhood division of the Chicago Public Schools, run by the much-lauded
Barbara Bowman, is considered
a national model for delivering preschool services to low-income children.
A second map, covered with 154 flags, depicts the multitude of sites in Chicago that requested funding to open new slots for children but were turned down because of last year’s 10-percent cut in funding for Preschool for All.
This year, the state of Illinois may face a more severe budget shortfall. Early childhood advocates are watching nervously to determine what this means to the viability of Preschool for All. With more cuts, what would these maps look like state-wide?
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