Across our region, the number of children entering kindergarten ready for school improved slightly from 2019 to 2020, according to data released by the Florida Department of Education this week.

In Escambia County, 48% of children in Escambia County entering kindergarten this fall were “ready,” compared to 47% in 2019.

In Santa Rosa County, 78% of children were ready for kindergarten, up from 57% in 2019.

Overall, 57% of children entering kindergarten across Florida were ready, compared to 53% in 2019.

Digging into the data this week, Achieve Escambia discovered the following:

• While both districts saw improvement, fewer kindergarten students took the test. There were 500 fewer test-takers in Escambia and 400 fewer in Santa Rosa. Overall, 133,000 children across Florida took the kindergarten readiness screener, down from 190,000 children in 2019.

• “Consider it a preview of COVID-19’s impact on the education system, and of its eventual effect on Florida’s workforce,” said Drew Wilson, writing in Florida Politics this week. “Florida’s global competitiveness depends on a quality education system. An under-educated workforce bottlenecks economic growth — importing workers from other states is an option, but business thrives when job-ready workers are in their backyard.

  That’s where the interest in kindergarten readiness comes in.

  The kindergarten students of today will be joining the workforce in a little over a decade. Their success in school will equip them with important skills such as self-discipline, persistence, and cooperation – skills also essential for employers to build a high-quality workforce.”

• Kindergarten students entering school at the following locations were 11-75% more ready for school than their 2019 peers: Brentwood, Myrtle Grove, Oakcrest, Scenic Heights, Sherwood, C.A. Weis, Holm, Global Learning Academy, Jackie Harris Preparatory Academy, and Byrneville Elementary.

• As Escambia’s kindergarten readiness rate continues to lag behind, the coming years will be crucial in meeting the Florida Chamber Foundation’s Business Alliance for Early Learning call for every child in Florida to enter kindergarten ready to learn.

• Making sure Florida children are on track now ensures employers will have a steady stream of top-tier employees, which is key to the Florida Chamber hitting its goal of growing the state’s economy from the 17th largest in the world to the 10th.

• Hitting the mark means investing in early childhood education, which research has shown can produce benefits far beyond employability. For example, children who participate in quality early learning programs are 50% less likely to need special education, 50% less likely to become teen parents, and 70% less likely to be arrested for a violent crime.

Learn more about how Florida measures kindergarten readiness HERE.