The Denver Preschool Program: Supporting Equitable Access to Quality Preschool During the COVID-19 Pandemic1 The Denver Preschool Program (DPP) supports Denver families through universal tuition credits to subsidize the cost of preschool. DPP also works to improve preschool quality in Denver and is a leader and advocate for early childhood education. The Butler Institute for Families evaluates DPP’s program operations, and this brief provides an overview of evaluation results related to DPP’s tuition credits for families. Results are based on a survey completed by a representative sample of 319 DPP families, follow-up interviews with 12 families, and program records from September 2020-August 2021. Family hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic During the pandemic, families have faced significant threats to their financial well-being. Overall, 70% of DPP family survey respondents faced one or more of the following: § reduced hours, Pandemic-related stressors experienced by parents § temporary layoff or furlough from work, and guardians § reduced pay, and/or § permanent layoff from work. Working during preschool closures: “It was wild. I'm not going to lie … to work, and to parent at the Financial hardships disproportionately same time is a ridiculous concept. I don't even affected Hispanic families (88%) and families understand how we've decided that that's a thing.” with lower incomes (80%). The pandemic has also been a source of psychological stress for families. Temporary preschool closures affected about half of survey participants, and these closures were difficult to manage; for example, it was challenging “adjusting to everyone being home,” especially while working remotely, juggling work and family life simultaneously.
Increased social isolation: “It was very stressful… There was like no end in sight. … I was just an emotional rollercoaster, to be honest. And it was really hard without another adult to talk to in our home because I felt just even more isolated. And then I was worried that my stress was affecting my children, and I'm sure it did.”
DPP’s preschool tuition credits for families matter more than ever. DPP has been a key support to families during the pandemic, making preschool access a reality despite financial hardships. §
Most families felt that DPP tuition credits made it possible to access a quality preschool of their choosing (see box, right).
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Families who identified as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC) tended to perceive the greatest impacts of DPP tuition credits. They were twice as likely as white families to report that: 1) DPP tuition credits made it possible to increase their child’s preschool hours, and 2) their child would be unable to attend their current preschool without DPP.
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1
Figure 1. DPP tuition credits make it possible for my family to... Afford preschool
78%
Enroll in our preschool of choice
76%
Send my child to a high-quality preschool
76%
This year, 94% of all DPP families attended a high-quality preschool, defined as a Colorado Shines rating of 3 or higher.
Recommended citation: Wacker, A., Delap, S., & Roberts, A. (2022). The Denver Preschool Program: Supporting Equitable Access to Quality Preschool During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Butler Institute for Families, Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver