A new study following more than 27,000 children from low-income families in Miami-Dade County found that students who attended public school pre-K outperformed peers in family-based childcare well into their teenage years — not just in kindergarten or elementary school.
Researchers, led by George Mason University with Florida International University’s Charles Bleiker, compared three preschool settings: public school pre-K, center-based childcare, and family-based childcare. Public school pre-K was the only setting requiring teachers to hold a college degree, and Bleiker points to that difference as a likely driver of the results.
“It really tests the idea that having better-trained teachers or better curricula actually helps these kids,” Bleiker said. “Critics often say teachers don’t need to be highly educated to teach young children, that it’s just babysitting and a waste of money. Our data says otherwise.”
Beyond academics, researchers noted that classroom routines — listening to a teacher, following a schedule, managing frustration, working alongside other children — help prepare young students for the transition into kindergarten.
For schools and families evaluating early childhood programs, Bleiker recommends looking for staff stability, visiting centers before enrolling, asking about curriculum and classroom expectations, and talking with other parents already using the program.
The study, “The influence of elementary school quality on differential long-term effects of preschool programs in third grade,” was published March 12, 2026, in Early Childhood Research Quarterly and funded by the Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade/Monroe and Children’s Trust.
Source: SciTechDaily, reporting on research from Florida International University.