Research shows that high-quality preschool greatly benefits a child during his or her formative years. A good preschool helps to build children’s social skills and self-confidence, and gives them the foundation of knowledge that they need to succeed in kindergarten and beyond.

Los Angeles Universal Preschool (LAUP) is committed to making high-quality preschool available to every four-year-old in Los Angeles County. We frequently evaluate each LAUP classroom for critical elements of quality, and provide the resources — funding and expert coaching — to help preschools  improve.

Benefits to Children & Families

A year of high-quality preschool can help prepare children for success in school and beyond. In fact, nine out of 10 kindergarten teachers say that children who attend preschool are better prepared for school than those who don’t. And studies show that there are many additional benefits. For example, children who attend a high-quality preschool are:

• More likely to read proficiently by third grade.
• More likely to graduate from high school and pursue higher education.
• Less likely to be held back or placed in special education.
• Less likely to become involved in crime.

Benefits to the Community

LAUP’s goal of making high-quality preschool available to all four-year-olds in Los Angeles County is one of the best investments we can make in our communities. 

Not only do our public schools benefit because children are better prepared for kindergarten, but our local communities benefit from increased investment in small businesses and infrastructure. And taxpayers benefit because the government has to spend less on special education and crime prevention. In fact, according to a recent study by the RAND Corporation, for every dollar we invest in quality preschool, the public saves more than double that in reduced special education needs, crime prevention, and other costs. In short, preschool education is an investment we cannot afford to neglect.