Hawai'i is one of eleven states that offers virtually no state funding for preschool. Many families consequently spend an average of $750 per month to ensure that their child can attend pre-K. Consequently, more than half of Hawai'i's children enter the HDOE system without ever attending pre-K. Findings from the Hawaii State School Readiness Assessment (HSSRA) for the 2012-2013 school year [link: http://arch.k12.hi.us/school/hssra/hssra.html], an annual survey that assesses school readiness among kindergarten students enrolled in the HDOE school system, serves as a sobering reminder that a significant proportion of children are unprepared to tackle challenges that await them in the classroom and that many students are falling behind before the first day of instruction. (author abstract)