A couple of years ago, Lacy and Ben Uthe were fine with their daughter attending a local child care program three mornings a week for several hours. But when they discovered Durham PreK, it became a total game-changer for their family.

Fast forward to the present, and the Uthes’ daughter is wrapping up a very successful year in kindergarten, for which they credit the DPK program she had attended a year earlier. Their son was enrolled in the same DPK program this year, and the Uthes are confident that he also will be fully prepared for kindergarten when he starts this fall.

“I think (the DPK program) really prepared her very well,” said Ben Uthe of his daughter’s experience. “She learned how to be in a class for a long time, instead of just a few mornings a week, and she really experienced a lot of socialization with other kids.”

Ben’s wife Lacy added that the structure of a DPK program made all the difference in providing her daughter the framework and skills to be ready for the next step.

“Obviously I think there’s a lot of growth from 3 to 4 years old but just the structure that the Durham PreK class offers was very helpful for my daughter,” said Lacy, adding that she especially appreciates the attention to academics in addition to ample playtime, as well as the fact that the program is tuition-free.

“Durham PreK is free and accessible regardless of income,” said Ben. “It was incredible to find that out, and something we were truly thankful for.”

Durham PreK sets high standards for teacher compensation and professional development

Perhaps the Uthes are so pleased with DPK and its impact on their family because the Durham community is fully committed to providing the resources necessary to ensure high-quality teaching. Durham County commits funding every year to blend with state and federal funds dedicated to supporting PreK teachers in becoming fully credentialed, then compensating them fairly for their hard work.

Early educators who work at DPK locations hold the following credentials:

• Among lead teachers, 98 percent hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 31
  percent statewide;
• The percentage of those lead teachers holding a birth-to-kindergarten (BK) license is 86
  percent, compared to 12 percent statewide;
• 78 percent of instructional assistants have obtained associate degrees or higher, while
  47 percent of their counterparts statewide have done so.

Solid professional development - and lots of it - also plays a critical role in the level of quality DPK programs offer. While the North Carolina PreK program already has high standards for professional development, Durham PreK requires a considerable degree of PD that goes above and beyond state requirements.

DPK professional development requirements include coaching by qualified specialists on a regular basis; creating annual professional development plans; participating in Professional Learning Community (PLC) activities; attending a number of webinars throughout the year; and much more. Administrators must also adhere to similar standards that far exceed state requirements.

High quality teaching results in satisfied parents

The level of commitment that DPK invests in supporting teachers translates to preschoolers who are being fully prepared for kindergarten and parents who can rest easily knowing that their children are receiving the best possible care and attention to academics that they need to succeed. Ben and Lacy Uthe are two parents who are very satisfied with the quality of teaching in their DPK program.

“(Our daughter’s) preschool helped her transition very smoothly to kindergarten. We have had absolutely no issues with kindergarten,” said Ben. “She’s used to knowing that a teacher is someone you respect and listen to. She knows that they're on her team.”

“In Durham PreK, she learned how to make friends, to be nice to people, and to appreciate people who come from different places and who look differently than you do,” he added.

Ben and Lacy’s son has an August birthday. With the cutoff date being August 31, Lacy said many parents of children on the “cusp” decide to hold them back a year before starting kindergarten to ensure they won’t be the youngest or smallest children in their class and so they will be better prepared to learn by waiting.

“We were prepared to hold him back, but we decided that if he got into a Durham PreK program we would feel very confident about him just going straight into kindergarten,” said Lacy. “Had he not been in DPK we would have held him back, but because he was in DPK we felt confident that he would be good and ready.”