Evidence Based Strategy
Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) bring together the resources, expertise, and perspectives of government, businesses, philanthropy, nonprofits, and community stakeholders to address the complex and multifaceted needs of early childhood education. Because no single entity can ensure school readiness for all young children, public-private partnerships serve as a powerful conduit for collaboration, innovation, and shared responsibility.
These partnerships allow the public sector to extend its reach by leveraging private investment, business expertise, and community engagement, while the private sector benefits from alignment with public goals and the ability to scale impact. Together, public-private partnerships can expand access to early learning programs, enhance program quality, improve infrastructure, and accelerate innovation.
For families, public-private partnerships translate into more affordable child care, greater availability of high-quality programs, and wraparound services that meet diverse needs. For providers, they offer capacity-building supports such as professional development, technical assistance, and access to blended or braided funding. For communities, public-private partnerships maximize efficiency by avoiding duplication of services, strategically aligning resources, and creating sustainable systems of support.
Public-private partnerships matter because they mobilize diverse stakeholders around a shared vision: ensuring that all children, regardless of background, have equitable access to the early experiences they need to thrive in school and life.
The Early Childhood Funders Collaborative and the Council of Chief State School Officers highlight that public-private partnerships have been critical in scaling early learning initiatives by blending public dollars with philanthropic investment, especially in underserved communities (ECFC). The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation emphasizes that the lack of reliable child care costs employers billions annually and that employer-sponsored child care benefits directly support workforce recruitment and retention.
Local coalitions also provide strong evidence for this approach. Child Care Aware of America documents how public-private coalitions, often including business leaders and philanthropy, can align public subsidies with private resources to expand supply and improve quality at the community level.
Infrastructure investments further demonstrate the role of public-private partnerships. States such as North Carolina and Colorado have leveraged public-private collaboration to expand preschool facilities and integrate philanthropic dollars with state funding, ensuring high-need communities gain capacity. Similarly, First 5 California has worked with business and nonprofit leaders to design outreach and parent engagement campaigns that broaden access and promote participation.
At the federal level, the Office of Head Start encourages grantees to build partnerships with private providers and local organizations to expand service capacity and improve program quality.
Together, these examples show that public-private partnerships not only increase funding and capacity but also enhance quality, drive innovation, and sustain progress by distributing responsibility across diverse stakeholders.
Successful public-private partnerships require several foundational conditions:
With these conditions, public-private partnerships can become engines of innovation, equity, and sustainability in early childhood systems.
Track both early signals and long-term outcomes.
Access to and participation in high-quality early care and education (ECE) is a critical leading indicator of kindergarten readiness. Research in the United States shows that ECE participation supports the development of foundational skills in literacy, numeracy, self-regulation, and social interaction. In Kentucky, 2023 data confirm this connection, children enrolled in state-funded preschool or Head Start were more likely to be rated as “ready” for kindergarten on the state’s readiness screener compared to their peers who did not attend formal ECE programs.
To measure access and participation, Kentucky tracks the number and percentage of eligible children enrolled in three key programs: state-funded preschool, Head Start, and the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). These metrics capture both reach (how many children are served) and equity (how participation compares to the eligible population at state and local levels). Additionally, the average per-child cost of quality ECE, calculated at 160% of the federal poverty level, provides context for affordability, a major factor influencing access.
Monitoring these indicators helps policymakers, educators, and advocates identify gaps in enrollment, address barriers for underserved families, and target investments to ensure all Kentucky children can benefit from high-quality early learning experiences that set the stage for future success.
Quality in early care and education (ECE) is a leading indicator of kindergarten readiness because children benefit most when their early learning experiences go beyond basic health and safety to provide rich, developmentally appropriate instruction and support. High-quality ECE fosters stronger cognitive, social-emotional, and language skills, which are critical for school success.
Quality encompasses multiple dimensions, including nurturing educator-child relationships, evidence-based curricula, and well-prepared, professionally supported educators. In Kentucky, the KY ALL STARS Quality Rating and Improvement System evaluates these dimensions across four domains: classroom and instructional quality, staff qualifications and professional development, family and community engagement, and administrative and leadership practices. Higher ratings reflect alignment with Kentucky’s Early Childhood Standards, strong family partnerships, continuous improvement systems, and robust educator supports.
In 2023, fewer than half of Kentucky’s licensed and regulated ECE providers were rated high-quality (3 stars or higher), with a statewide average of 2.7 stars. Indicators used to track quality include the percentage of high-quality providers, the share of communities with average ratings of 3 or better, the proportion of early childhood slots in high-quality settings, staff-to-child ratios, and health and wellness referrals. Improving these metrics strengthens early learning environments and better equips children for success in kindergarten and beyond.
Third grade proficiency in reading and math is a critical lagging indicator for kindergarten readiness, reflecting the long-term impact of early learning experiences on academic achievement. Students who enter kindergarten ready to learn are significantly more likely to reach proficiency or higher on third grade state assessments. In Kentucky, data from the Brigance Kindergarten Screener shows a strong correlation: children rated as “ready” or “ready with enrichments” in kindergarten consistently outperform their peers in third grade reading and math, while those not ready are more likely to score at the novice or apprentice levels.
This relationship matters because third grade marks a pivotal shift from “learning to read” to “reading to learn,” a transition that affects success across all subjects. Proficiency at this stage predicts future academic achievement, including middle and high school performance, graduation rates, and postsecondary readiness. Conversely, children who are not proficient by third grade face increased risks of grade retention, remedial coursework, and lower educational attainment.
As a lagging indicator, third grade proficiency captures the cumulative effects of children’s early environments, access to quality early care and education, and kindergarten readiness. It is an essential measure for evaluating the effectiveness of early childhood investments and identifying where supports are needed.
