Maine State-Wide Public Pre-K Data

Currently, public Pre-K in Maine is available for 4-year-olds in approximately 86% of school administrative units or SAUs. While the cognitive and social-emotional benefits of high-quality Pre-K are well documented, there are a variety of factors that contribute to whether school systems offer public Pre-K and the extent to which they are able to enroll all eligible and interested 4-year-olds.

Below are visual representations of current public Pre-K data in Maine. Each data set offers a brief description.

Additionally, every year the Department of Education asks school administrative units (SAUs) to complete an annual Pre-K survey. This survey helps the Maine DOE to update data related to Public Pre-K. Updated data from 2022-23 can be accessed here.

_{Over the last ten years there has been a steady increase in public Pre-K enrollment. Currently public schools in Maine serve approximately 52% of 4-year-olds in public Pre-K. This is calculated by dividing the Pre-K enrollment by the kindergarten enrollment.}

_{As of the current school year (2023-2024), approximately 85% of SAUs offer a public Pre-K option for their communities. Of those 164 SAUs, 51% report universal enrollment in Pre-K.}

_{The percentage of SAUs that offer full day/full week programming has increased by 3% from 2021-2022 to 2022-2023.}

 The map below identifies the towns in Maine that have access to a public Pre-K program.  The colors indicate the county in which the town is located. Click on the image to search for a specific town, county, or SAU. Clicking on a colored pin will bring up the name of the SAU and provide a contact phone number.