Early Childhood Education: Distribution of pre-K facilities and children under five years old

Introduction

Early childhood education plays an important role in the long-term success of children. Early childhood education, particularly prekindergarten (pre-K), is designed to ensure children are prepared to enter first grade with the skills they need to succeed academically and socially. Children learn a variety of lessons that promote social and emotional development, language development, cognitive development, and motor development.

Given the importance of early childhood education in the long-term success of children and their families, it would be crucial for parents to have access to affordable and quality early childhood education facilities including pre-K. The best locations for pre-K facilities are very close to homes with easy geographical access.

How well located are pre-K facilities in Chatham County, Georgia? Are the locations of pre-K facilities close to the residences of parents with children under five years old? Do parents with children under five years old have easy geographical access to pre-K facilities?

Location

Chatham County, Georgia

Time to complete the lab

Three to four hours

Prerequisites

Familiarity with ArcGIS 10

Familiarity with Microsoft Excel

Data used in this lab

Locations and capacity of pre-K facilities in Chatham County from the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning and the phone surveys

2010 US Census data