What we Learned About Oregon’s District-run Preschools in 2025 

The 2025 Preschool Landscape Survey offers new insights about Oregon’s school district preschool programs, ten years after Children’s Institute conducted its first statewide preschool survey. 

In the latest survey, findings show that while many districts have offered preschool for years, most operate on a small scale and face challenges to meet growing demand. The findings also highlight key areas for investment—including funding, workforce development, and data partnerships—to help Oregon build a more equitable and sustainable early learning system. 

Revisiting Oregon’s Preschool Landscape: 2015-2025  

In 2015, Children’s Institute launched a statewide Oregon School District Preschool Survey in response to legislation aimed at expanding publicly funded preschool for children from low-income families.  

At the time, Oregon educators, parents, and policymakers had limited information about which school districts offered preschool and how those programs operated. The 2015 survey helped fill this gap by identifying existing programs and informing policy decisions as Oregon began to expand preschool access.   

This year, Children’s Institute launched the 2025 Preschool Landscape Survey to find out which school districts currently offer preschool, what supports are in place for young learners, and where gaps remain.   

With a decade of policy shifts, funding changes, and growing public awareness around early education, the 2025 Preschool Landscape Survey was designed to capture the current realities districts and educators face, especially as demand continues to outpace supply.  

By gathering updated data directly from Oregon school districts, our goal is to inform future investments, elevate educator voices, and support more equitable access to quality preschool programs. 

Key Findings from 2025 

Access and Scale  

• Many Oregon school districts have offered preschool for years, but most operate small programs with limited sites, classrooms, and capacity 
• Demand continues to outpace available seats, with over half the reporting districts running waitlists 

Transition Supports 

• School-led supports for kindergarten transitions are common 
• Home visiting is used less frequently 

Assessment and Screening 

• School districts use common assessment and screening tools 
• Some districts lean on Education Service Districts (ESDs) or Head Start partners to  conduct screenings and data sharing 

 Funding 

• Public preschool dollars are the primary funding source 
• Supplemental funding comes from district budgets and parent tuition 
• Rising costs and tight district budgets limit growth, even though demand is high 

Workforce and Professional Development 

• Workforce challenges are deeply interconnected with access, quality, and program growth 
• Qualifications and licensure expectations vary widely across settings 
• Compensation is inconsistent, making recruitment and retention difficult 
• Educators want practical professional learning in classroom management, behavior supports, early literacy, social-emotional learning, numeracy, and curriculum implementation 
• Many districts are expanding dual-language capacity but face ongoing needs for bilingual staff and training 

Opportunities 

• Targeted funding for seats and facilities to cut waitlists and increase enrollment where demand is highest. 
• Establishing formal data-sharing between preschool, ESD, Head Start, and K–12 to streamline screenings and transitions, so children receive services faster. 
• Building workforce pipelines and aligning credentials and licensure to recruit and retain qualified staff, enabling programs to scale without compromising quality. 

What’s Next?  

Children’s Institute will share a full report with detailed findings in the coming weeks.  

Want to learn more?

Join our webinar on November 14, 2025 to explore the survey results and what they mean for young children, educators, and the future of early learning in Oregon. 

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