"Fragile Lives, Shattered Dreams: A Report on Implementation of Preschool Education in New Jersey's Abbott Districts"

W. Steven Barnett, Ph.D., Julie E. Tarr, Ed.D., Cindy Esposito Lamy, M.A.,
Ellen C. Frede, Ph.D. (2001)

Summary of Findings:

In 1998, New Jersey's Supreme Court mandated that children in the Abbott districts (the 30 highest poverty districts in the state) receive a high-quality preschool education beginning at age 3. The goal is to prepare these children to enter kindergarten with skills and abilities comparable to those of their wealthier suburban peers.

This report finds that the state has made little progress. Less than 10% of children receive a program that can even be called good three years after the Court order. The source of these problems is the state's failure to adequately fund preschool education. In essence, state preschool policy has been to try to create the appearance of compliance with the Court while minimizing state spending and continuing to treat early education as little more than babysitting.

Major changes in state policy, requiring immediate and dramatic actions, will be required to implement the Court mandate within the next several years. Recommendations for these changes are provided at the end of the report.

View the full report