Pre-K Partnerships

A pre-k partnership is a collaboration formed between a public school pre-k program and one or more quality-rated child care providers, with the goal of providing high-quality care and education to eligible three- and four-year-old children.

Pre-k partnerships provide numerous benefits to families, child care programs, school districts, and open enrollment charter school networks. Pre-k partnerships provide families with the following benefits:

• Access to high-quality pre-k to help children transition to kindergarten
• Consistency between the school day and before or after care
• More accommodating hours for working parents who need a full workday of care for their child
• A child care curriculum aligned with that of the local school district in order to increase children’s school readiness

Pre-k partnerships provide child care programs with the following benefits:

• Higher enrollment and greater financial stability, as programs continue to fill classrooms for three- and four-year-old children while they also receive support and/or funding from the local school district
• Opportunities to share knowledge and learn from a variety of teachers with different training and educational backgrounds
• Pathways to help transition children into kindergarten at a public school
• Increased school readiness, resources, and professional development opportunities

Pre-k partnerships provide school districts and charter school networks with the following benefits:

• Quality wraparound care for longer hours than those of a typical school day
• The ability to share school readiness standards and expectations for future students
• Access to teachers who are well-trained in developmentally appropriate practice and social-emotional support
• More pre-k setting options to meet the diverse needs and preferences of families
• A larger population of eligible three- and four-year-old children without having to build more classrooms
• Increased resources and professional development opportunities
• Open lines of communication with early childhood education programs serving future students
• Earlier opportunities to engage parents

If you are interested in learning more about pre-k partnerships, please contact Kelley Fontenot kfontenot@dfwjobs.com.