US military to expand universal pre-K at dozens more bases this fall

Since she became one of the first 4-year-olds enrolled in the Defense Department’s free universal preschool program, which launched last year at M.C. Perry Primary School at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Japan, Leila is thriving academically, socially and emotionally, said her mother Yadira Rojas.

“It’s been amazing for us,” Yadira Rojas said. “Leila talks about her teachers all the time, about how much they teach her, how nice they are, and how they play with her all the time.”

Now thousands more military children will get that same opportunity as the Defense Department prepares to open universal pre-kindergarten at nearly all primary schools on U.S.-run bases worldwide this fall.