Expanded preschool program received 12,000 applications

BY ERICA BREUNLIN THE COLORADO SUN

Close to 12,000 applicants signed up for the state’s expanded preschool program Tuesday, the rst day parents could enroll their child ahead of the program’s start this fall.

e number of applications is a promising sign for the new program and is prompting state o cials to rethink the number of children who will enroll.

“We’re pleasantly surprised,” said Lisa Roy, executive director of the Colorado Department of Early Childhood. “It exceeded our expectations for the rst day. We think it’s an excellent indicator of family interest” in the state’s expanded preschool program, known as “universal preschool.” e department originally projected about 30,000 kids would opt into the state program during its rst year, about half the number of kids who will be eligible, Chalkbeat Colorado rst reported. State o cials largely based that estimate on enrollment numbers across the country and from the Denver preschool program, Roy said.

“Colorado is giving us an indicator that our initial projections are lower than what the uptake will be,” she said. “And that’s exciting. We have the funding. We need to make sure that … by the fall we have the seats available, and based on the provider uptake, we look like we’re in really great shape.”

So far, 1,477 child care providers have submitted forms to o er services through the preschool program, with another nearly 1,000 forms that providers have started but not yet submitted, according to the department. Based on the number of providers who plan to participate in the program, 60,000 slots are available for kids, nearly double the department’s initial expectation, said Melissa Mares, director of early childhood initiatives for the Colorado Children’s Campaign. e rst round of applications for families closes Feb. 14, but the expanded preschool program is not rst come, rst served. Instead, the department will evaluate all families’ applications at the same time and use an analytics system that will consider a variety of factors when matching families to preschool settings — including home-based, center-based and school-based programs. ose factors include transportation, whether families want a full day of preschool and whether a program is listed as a family’s rst choice. When applying, parents and caregivers can select up to ve preschool programs, ranking their preferred programs starting with their top choice. e application is available in English, Spanish and Arabic and takes no more than 15 minutes to complete, Mares said, adding that the state has created the application by asking, “how can we best take (the) burden o of families?” e state’s newly expanded preschool program was made possible by Colorado taxpayers in 2020, when voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition EE, which raised taxes on cigarettes and other products containing nicotine partly to fund more preschool for Colorado kids. e program “will save families at least $6,000 a year and give every child the best possible start in life,” Polis said during his speech. e department will likely launch a second round of applications for families and possibly a third, depending on the ow of applications.

All 4-year-olds in the state will be eligible for at least 15 hours of free preschool per week — close to a half day of care. Additionally, some 3-year-olds will qualify for 10 hours of free preschool per week, including those with a disability, from low-income families, facing housing insecurity, learning English or living in foster care.

Providing free hours of preschool to families has been a major goal of Gov. Jared Polis, who has championed early childhood education since he rst ran for governor. Polis touted the launch of the application window for expanded preschool during his State of the State address Tuesday.

Department of Early Childhood spokesperson Hope Shuler noted that preschool applications swelled during and after Polis’ address. e department’s website encountered few technology challenges amid the urry of applications, running slowly the rst 15 minutes of the day but then resolved and managed the intake of applications, she said.

If the majority of eligible children have applied by the end of the rst or second round, Roy said, “we’ll adapt as needed.”

Meanwhile, the department is also focused on establishing academic standards, assessments and curriculum support for all types of preschool providers, she noted, while also approving curriculum that some providers already use.

“We have a lot to do before fall,” Roy said, “but we plan on having many of the important areas that were identied by the statute in place before the summer comes.” is story is from e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support e Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. e Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.