Exactly 8,586 preschool-aged children live in Merced County.

Twenty eight percent of them languish in poverty; 46 percent speak a language other than English at home.

Of the public preschool programs in the county that could serve these children, 59 percent show a waiting list, according to a 2005 study. The lack of open spaces for the county's littlest learners remains pervasive, County Superintendent of Schools Lee Andersen said Friday.
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Andersen and other leaders throughout the county -- from Livingston Medical Group to South Dos Palos Head Start to the Merced City School District -- met Friday to create a new plan to provide preschool for more youngsters here.

Instead of the county's present predicament, "we can be known as a community and a city and a county with children who have the best possibility for success in life's journey," said Flip Hassett, executive director of United Way of Merced County.

The meeting was facilitated by Preschool California, a nonprofit advocacy group that works to increase access to high-quality preschool for all of California's children.

"There's a lot going on. It is very exciting," said Scott Moore, a senior policy advisor with Preschool California. "It really will enable Merced to do a lot of the things we envision today."

Moore said federal plans to inject $10 billion a year into early education meant that counties and other agencies with solid plans stood to receive significant funding.

"This is a time that the early care and education community is using to do our homework, get our ducks in a row for the time when new funding sources do become available," said Gaye Riggs, Merced County assistant superintendent for early care and education. "This is a time when we are building a base, taking what we currently have and making it better."

Forum participants didn't ignore the many problems facing today's early education programs. Instead, they seized on them.

Attendees said a lack of preschool could be the root cause of Merced County's 19 percent high-school dropout rate and significantly below-average college degree recipients.

According to another recent study, the San Joaquin Valley would see more than 1,600 fewer high school dropouts each year by making quality preschool widely available.

"(Preschool) is not a silver bullet, but it could make a tremendous difference," Riggs said.

The group is slated to meet again in two weeks. Among the issues they will discuss are community engagement, policy advocacy and expansion of programs.