The problem this study addressed is the lack of access to high-quality public-school early childhood education for children in small, rural communities in Missouri. The purpose of this quantitative study was to analyze the effects of public-school early childhood education on the reading levels of elementary students in two small midwestern schools. The goal of this study was to add to the body of existing knowledge regarding the impact of early childhood education on students. This study has provided district leaders and stakeholders in Missouri with valuable information to consider when analyzing the cost-benefit factor of adding a preschool program. The results of the independent t-tests on the student data showed that attending one year of preschool did not cause a statistically significant impact on reading achievement of students that participated in the study. While the data did not reflect that all tests in a grade level were statistically significant, there was one set of assessment data per grade level that was significant. The kindergarten letter sound fluency scores from students in School A, the Spell a Sound assessment scores for first graders in School A, second grade Spell a Sound scores from School B, and third grade MAP scores from School B were all statistically significant. These four tests showed that attending at least one year of public-school preschool did have a significant impact on students' reading proficiency later in elementary school. Further research is needed to confirm that the significance is in fact correlated to preschool enrollment. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]