Photo: Davidson United Methodist Church

March 1. Two new private pre-schools are under construction in Cornelius at the same time: LeafSpring School on Hwy. 21 and Vanderbilt Children’s College on Westmoreland.

“The pandemic has increased the requirement for strong, early schooling. Parents may be working from home but they are preoccupied with their jobs, and their children need more attention,” said Heather Bazow, executive director of LeafSpring.

28031 skews older

Meanwhile, the U.S. Census Bureau says 4.4 percent of the Cornelius population is under 5 years old, compared to Mecklenburg County, with 6.6 percent under 5.

…and wealthier

But the median household income levels are vastly different: $90,542 in Cornelius, vs. $66,641 county-wide, according to 2015-2019 Census data.

A macro-economic perspective

“Access to preschool is often determined by a family’s ability to pay or its residence in one of the handful of cities and states that offer widely available public preschool. Only 1 in 6 eligible children are receiving child care assistance, and without it, families face steep costs to access care and education.”

—Center for American Progress, a  public policy research and advocacy organization which presents a liberal viewpoint on economic and social issues.