About the More at Four Pre-kindergarten Program

The More at Four Program is North Carolina's statewide pre-kindergarten initiative for at-risk 4-year-olds, designed to help children be more successful when they enter school. The purpose of More at Four is to provide a high quality educational program for at-risk children in the year before kindergarten entry. The More at Four Program began in 2001-2002 and is overseen by the More at Four State Office of the Office of School Readiness in Raleigh, North Carolina.

More at Four provides funding for classroom-based educational programs at sites designated by each local county administration, including public schools, private for-profit and non-profit child care centers, and Head Start programs. The More at Four program guidelines provide standards related to staff qualifications, class size, teacher-child ratios, North Carolina child care licensing levels, curriculum, and provision of other program services. Children are eligible for More at Four based on poverty status and other risk factors with priority for service given to children who are otherwise unserved in a preschool program.

To learn more about the More at Four Program, please contact the More at Four State Office. Parents or caregivers interested in enrolling a child in More at Four should call 1-866-NC-PREK4.

About the More at Four Evaluation Project

The More at Four Evaluation team at the FPG Child Development Institute serves as the external evaluator for the North Carolina More at Four Program. Since More at Four began in 2001-2002, we have gathered information each year to evaluate the program’s effectiveness and to provide data for program improvement.

Major research questions include:

• Who is being served by the More at Four Program?
• What are the characteristics and quality of the services provided?
• What are the outcomes of children attending these programs?
• What factors are associated with better outcomes for children?
• How satisfied are families with the program?
• What factors have enhanced or impeded the implementation of More at Four?

The evaluation provides a "big-picture" look at the statewide program as a whole, and includes varying data each year from a variety of sources. The types of evaluation information gathered include:

• Assessments of children's development
• Observations of classroom quality and curriculum implementation
• Surveys regarding parent satisfaction with More at Four
• Monthly reports of program characteristics