Prekindergarten participation in West Virginia has more than doubled since the state started a voluntary preschool program in 2002, rising from 26 percent to 63 percent in 2010-11, according to a new study by the Regional Education Laboratory Appalachia.
The report also finds that, while rural West Virginia districts have had the highest prekindergarten participation rates for the past decade, nonrural districts have caught up in recent years.
In 2010-11, the average prekindergarten participation rates were the same for both types of districts, at 63 percent.
