Registration for Mecklenburg County’s MECK Pre-K program opened at the end of January, and officials said more people are applying earlier this year than in years past.
As of March 24, Meck Pre-K received more than 1,700 applications in nine weeks — up 39% compared to the same time in 2022.
Mary-Margaret Kantor, chief early education officer at Smart Start of Mecklenburg County, said some of the spike in early applications can be credited to an ongoing rebound from the pandemic.
But she also said it’s being driven by attention to how students nationwide are falling behind — particularly in literacy and reading.
“The fear of this, you know, the ‘falling behind phenomenon’ and all of that, I think that's gotten so much press that I think some people have tuned into that and are aware of helping their child get started as early as possible, you know, do as much as they can early on," Kantor said.
This year's National Assessment of Educational Progress test, a national test administered to track student progress in math and English, found a decline in reading scores that federal education experts have described as concerning.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has set a district wide goal to increase early literacy scores in grades K-2.
Kantor told WFAE they had 669 applications in the first week of registration this year — up from 449 last year and 266 the year before. Kantor says the biggest challenge of growth is being able to serve everybody.
While open to all Mecklenburg County residents, MECK Pre-K has a limited number of seats, and families may end up on a waitlist.
