Availability of preschool in Chicago’s Hispanic-concentrated communities: A study of supply and directors’ support for universal programming

Abstract

I use multiple datasets to examine disparities in the availability of preschool across Hispanic-concentrated and non-Hispanic-concentrated Chicago ZIP Codes. First, I examine levels of preschool supply in Chicago ZIPs (n = 55). I find that communities with higher shares of Hispanic populations and higher rates of child poverty have had fewer slots per child than other communities across time (2008–2013). Using a separate but complementary dataset, I then explore Chicago area preschool directors’ preference for universal, state-funded preschool (n = 225). Directors serving in majority Hispanic communities are over 20% more likely to support universal public preschool than those serving in majority White communities. Together, these results suggest that there is room to increase the availability of state-funded preschool options for Hispanic-concentrated communities, and that directors serving such communities are open to increasing universal state-funded public preschool.