Serving as the owner, director and a teacher at Hands on Fun Preschool Center in the South Bay, Dawn Speciale provides crucial childcare services to working class parents, while enriching their little kids’ days through activities like finger painting and bean bag games.
But like many preschools across Los Angeles County, the Hands on Fun center is operating far below its capacity. With room for 26 preschoolers, the preschool center near Torrance has only 11 children — and that low enrollment means Speciale hasn’t been able to give herself a paycheck in months.
“I’ve been in this business for 40 years, but I’ve been having trouble staying full,” Speciale said. “It’s a struggle, and it got worse after the pandemic.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic spurred temporary preschool shutdowns in 2020, enrollments tanked. And they still haven’t rebounded, according to a recent study by Bruce Fuller, a professor at the UC Berkeley School of Education.
Across Los Angeles County, preschool centers have reported nearly 28,000 empty seats, according to the Berkeley study, released in July.
Publicly financed, nonprofit and private preschools have all been affected by vast vacancies. But preschools like the one run by Speciale — which help primarily low-income and middle-income families through state subsidized programs — are among those hit hardest.
They have reported enrollments 35% lower than in the pre-pandemic era.
“Preschools have really been hammered,” Fuller said. “They’re competing for a shrinking number of kids.”
Fuller said the losses are due to several factors: declining birth rates, a shortage of early childhood educators, families moving to areas with lower costs of living, shifting parental needs and fragmented public information about preschool options.
Another factor contributing to the loss of preschool enrollments is the expansion of another, competing program — “transitional kindergarten,” which serves 4-year-olds exclusively at existing public schools.
Fuller said some families are choosing transitional kindergarten over community preschool centers, which primarily serve 3- and 4-year-old children and make up a decentralized, “colorful, yet frayed quilt” of options.
But while preschools face thousands of vacancies and more transitional kindergarten classes are offered at public schools, parents still often face headaches trying to find and enroll their young kids in nearby, affordable childcare.
For Woodland Hills resident Mark Azali, securing a preschool for his 3-year-old son posed a challenge.
He originally wanted to send his little one to the same preschool his now-8-year-old son attended, but it had yet to reopen after the pandemic. Not qualifying for subsidies, Azali searched for a preschool and ended up spending $1,200 a month for tuition.
“It’s a lot of money, and it means we have to spend less on whatever else to get by,” Azali said. “But I’m grateful we have the daycare.”
Azali has since moved his son to the preschool he originally wanted, which finally reopened and has a slightly lower tuition.
“I’m happy he’s able to develop different skills and be social,” Azali said. “But I can’t wait for him to go to a regular public elementary school, I’ll say that.”
Parents’ struggles to find childcare despite vacancies stem from enrollment disparities across L.A. County, as well as a lack of centralized public information about options, according to Fuller.
“This is an important equity issue,” Fuller said. “When kids aren’t (in preschool or transitional kindergarten) it can exacerbate inequalities in their early growth.”
While many preschools have vacancies, Oakdale School in Valley Village is full. The director of the preschool, Jeannine Pignotti, attributes her full classrooms to a mix of “luck, word of mouth and the community Oakdale is in.”
But finding enough teachers for her preschool’s 38 students has been difficult.
“The hardest part (after the pandemic) was filling teacher slots,” Pignotti said. “But I’ve been lucky. We’ve been here a very long time and things have been OK.”
Families searching for preschools in Los Angeles County and other communities can find help from nonprofit resource agencies and referral agencies.
As executive director of the Child Care Alliance of Los Angeles, Cristina Alvarado is one of those resources. Alvarado said, “We act as that bridge for families, and we’re looking to enhance the information out there, especially in multiple languages.”
Alvarado advises, “Families can reach out to a local resource agency for free, because finding childcare can be overwhelming.”
Fuller said awareness is key for parents, noting that even if a family earns about $90,000 a year they still might be eligible for state-subsidized preschool.
“It’s important for middle-income and working class folks to get the information about where there are slots, and know that they don’t necessarily have to pay for preschool,” Fuller said.
Related links
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