{"id":357591,"date":"2026-07-30T14:11:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T14:11:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/357591\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T14:11:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T14:11:09","slug":"kindergarten-readiness-crisis-over-half-of-fl-kids-unready","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/357591\/","title":{"rendered":"Kindergarten readiness crisis: Over half of FL kids unready"},"content":{"rendered":"

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. \u2014 More than half of Florida\u2019s youngest students entered kindergarten without meeting the state\u2019s readiness benchmark, according to a new report released Thursday.<\/p>\n

The Florida Chamber Foundation\u2019s 2025-2026 Kindergarten Readiness Report found that 44% of children entering kindergarten in fall 2025 were considered ready to learn under Florida\u2019s standards.<\/p>\n

Pinellas County recorded the state\u2019s highest readiness rate at 53%, while Jefferson County had the lowest at 13%, according to the report.<\/p>\n

The Florida Chamber Foundation said kindergarten readiness is an early indicator of later academic and career outcomes, including third-grade reading proficiency, high school graduation and workforce success.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen more than half of Florida\u2019s children start school behind, it creates challenges that can follow them throughout their education and careers,\u201d Florida Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mark Wilson said.<\/p>\n

The report also found that children who complete Florida\u2019s Voluntary Prekindergarten program are significantly more likely to meet the kindergarten-readiness benchmark.<\/p>\n

Florida\u2019s Department of Education recently raised the score students must achieve to be considered kindergarten-ready. The foundation said the higher threshold reflects increased academic expectations and the skills children need for long-term success.<\/p>\n

\u201cStrengthening kindergarten readiness is one of the smartest long-term investments Florida can make to secure its future workforce and economic competitiveness,\u201d said Corrie Melton, the foundation\u2019s vice president of talent development and future of work.<\/p>\n

The report includes statewide and regional data examining early-learning trends and potential strategies for improving student outcomes.<\/p>\n

The Florida Chamber Foundation<\/a> has set a goal of reaching 100% kindergarten readiness by 2030. The organization is encouraging businesses, policymakers and community groups to support evidence-based early-learning programs.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here<\/a> to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.<\/p>\n

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\u00a92026 Cox Media Group<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TALLAHASSEE, Fla. \u2014 More than half of Florida\u2019s youngest students entered kindergarten without meeting the state\u2019s readiness benchmark,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":357592,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[689,6982,49784,694,697,4169,6036,7898,16007,3068,7071,6157,5566,166,49785,15859,28966,113,49786,20060,29166,28,30,29,1458,28968,28969,1175,49787,44388,7453,29047,49788,3990,49789,49790,33423,49791,49792,49793,2303,22438,8641,531,23670,49794,109,2315,7331,6343,7982,28976],"class_list":["post-357591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-abstract","tag-activity","tag-appreciation","tag-background","tag-blur","tag-board","tag-care","tag-center","tag-chair","tag-childcare","tag-children","tag-class","tag-classroom","tag-day","tag-day-nursery","tag-daycare","tag-desk","tag-education","tag-educational","tag-elementary","tag-empty","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-high","tag-indoor","tag-interior","tag-kid","tag-kindergarden","tag-kindergarten","tag-meeting","tag-no-people","tag-no-person","tag-nobody","tag-nursery","tag-pedagogy","tag-playground","tag-playroom","tag-pre","tag-pre-school","tag-preschool","tag-primary","tag-room","tag-school","tag-seat","tag-small","tag-social","tag-table","tag-teacher","tag-training","tag-white","tag-young"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=357591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357591\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/357592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=357591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=357591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=357591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}