The Denver Preschool Program is ready to start cutting checks to parents whose children enroll in approved preschools.
We’re glad to see the fledgling tuition credit program, funded by a city sales tax approved last year, is on track and we applaud the efforts of those who’ve worked hard to create it from scratch.
Early childhood education is one of the most effective ways of giving all children, but particularly at-risk kids, a chance at succeeding in elementary school and beyond. Denver voters were wise to invest in it.
There are a few tenets of the evolving program, however, that still must be addressed. We’re hopeful that will happen once the non-profit organization hires a full-time top executive, which is expected to happen soon.
Those issues include branching out to effectively recruit children who don’t already attend preschool, and securing participation commitments from preschools that receive taxpayer money to improve their programs.
A major focus, at least in the beginning years, will be on helping existing preschools improve enough to provide the level of instruction and physical amenities necessary for a quality education.
That assistance could take the form of a grant. A school might receive $40,000 for a library, playground, or teacher training. We don’t have a problem with making such an investment.
But to get a grant, we think the preschools ought to make a formal pledge to remain an approved Denver Preschool provider for a few years. The schools ought to get a similar commitment from teachers who would become more skilled, and therefore more valuable on the market, after receiving training paid for by the program.
Denver Preschool board president Gloria Higgins said it’s an idea worthy of consideration. The board has been scrambling, she said, to get a program into place and begin offering tuition payments to eligible students. Grant program details are still being worked on, she said.
Another offshoot of the short timeframe the organization has labored under is the schools and swath of students they’re targeting for enrollment in the first year.
Denver Preschool has focused its provider recruiting program on preschools already rated by one of two systems, and they’re targeting for enrollment the 1,000 to 1,200 4-year-olds who already attend those programs. To be sure, these are children whose families need the support.
The tuition reimbursement schedule is on a sliding scale. Also, it gives a higher reimbursement to the best programs. A family with an income at or below the federal poverty line — $20,650 for a family of four — could get up to $9,000 for sending one of their children to a very highly ranked school.
A good dynamic is at work there. We hope in ensuing years there will be a significant effort to recruit underprivileged children not attending a preschool. This program will succeed if it helps place kids who wouldn’t otherwise receive an early childhood education in quality programs.
Denver Preschool organizers have invested significant effort in creating this program, but it’s evident there’s much work to be done.
