The question of whether the public kindergarten neighborhood can effectively assume a meaningful role in the development of children's racial attitudes is investigated in this study. Focus centers on the public kindergarten since, in the absence of racially mixed neighborhoods, it constitutes the first formal interracial experience for most children. Two hundred and forty six-year-old children were divided into eight groups on the basis of race, sex, and public kindergarten experience. Subjects individually participated in a two-part selection procedure designed to investigate racial preferences. Children consistently registered strongest preference for same race individuals and totally same race classroom settings. The study suggests that the racially mixed kindergarten neighborhood seems to be unable to perform effectively the social interaction and attitude development functions one would associate with the racially integrated residence neighborhood. Until the latter becomes social reality, the most concerted efforts in racial mixing may have primarily cosmetic rather than depth effects on children's attitudes. (Author/AM)