Many say they even spend more time with their children because of the program. The result is that Head Start has served only about 40 percent of eligible children who live right above the poverty line, he added. A parent can also count on a public school bus to provide transportation to a public prekindergarten. In some school districts, the public school bus drivers deliver preschoolers to private centers, if the center is located along the bus route, Osborn told Education World. Not only does Georgia serve the highest proportion of preschool children in the nation, it goes a step further for those children considered at risk.
Participation is voluntary for families, public schools, and private child development centers.
The goal of Georgia's program is to offer a high-quality preschool program that emphasizes helping children achieve school readiness goals. Using developmentally appropriate practices, the program focuses on growth in language and literacy, math concepts, science, arts, physical development, and personal and social competence. The program began in 1993, initially serving 750 at-risk children. The state's goal was to provide the children with an opportunity to better develop school readiness skills in an environment that would also allow them to have fun. So far, parents give the program high marks, and all measures of service were found to be of high quality.