Some form of publicly-funded pre-kindergarten is accessible to an exceptionally high number of three and four year olds in the District of Columbia. These programs are provided in diverse settings including Head Start programs, District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), Public Charter Schools, and community-based subsidy programs.

In order for a community to truly reap the educational and social benefits of pre-k, all children must attend programs that meet accepted standards of quality. In 2005, DCPS and the DC Department of Human Services, Early Care and Education Administration jointly created the Pre-K Incentive Program. This program embodies the following nationally-recognized components of quality:

1. A teacher in every classroom with a bachelor’s degree and specialized training in early childhood education;
2. Equitable compensation and benefits for all teachers in all settings;
3. An age-appropriate, child-centered curriculum that develops language and learning skills, mathematical thinking, scientific inquiry, and social and emotional development;
4. A low adult-child ratio of 1:8 to allow for teacher-child interaction and individualized instruction;
5. A rigorous program-improvement and public accountability system that includes child-outcome assessments, program evaluations, and comprehensive services; and
6. System-wide implementation of quality accreditation standards such as those offered by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

While there has been substantial improvement in recent years, a pre-k quality gap exists between the Pre-K Incentive Program and the vast majority of early education programs in the District. According to the Early Care and Education Administration, an estimated 80% of programs in the District fail to meet quality accreditation standards.

Inconsistencies in teacher qualifications between programs also comprise a large part of this quality gap. While all teachers in DCPS Pre-K have bachelor’s degrees, only 35 percent of teachers in community-based settings hold such a degree.