Welcome to Durham PreK! Whether you are a first time pre-K family or if you have older children who are Durham PreK graduates, we are so excited to get to know you this school year! You most likely learned a bit about Durham PreK during the application process, but there are so many people and efforts that go into making the application possible. Let’s dive into some of the parts of Durham PreK you may not have read about before!
Durham PreK developed out of
Local early childhood experts and community stakeholders formed the Durham Community Early Education/Preschool Task Force in ____. They worked together to create recommendations for Durham to consider as they began planning for a local pre-K program. These recommendations included:
In 2017, after the Task Force presented their recommendations, Durham County contracted with Child Care Services Association to study the availability of and need for local early childhood care. This study determined there were over 9,200 preschool-age children in Durham County with about 4,300 (about 47%) living in low-income households. However, there were more than two age-eligible children for each public seat in a licensed classroom. The availability of 4- or 5-star seats was even lower.
The limited access of care in Durham County became a priority for the County Commissioners, and the study showed the community would support it, too. 97% of families felt it was important to make sure quality preschool was available, 94% felt it was important for Durham County to fund quality preschool, and 90% were willing to contribute to quality preschool in Durham through monthly local taxes.
In 2018, Durham County contracted with CCSA to manage Durham PreK, and CCSA sub-contracted with Durham’s Partnership for Children, the managing agency of NC Pre-K. Since then, the Durham PreK team has grown in number and in strength.
Over the years, the Durham PreK Governance Committee has ________________________. The Quality Subcommittee has developed quality standards for family engagement at pre-K sites, an equity plan for Durham County, and are currently _________. The PreK Partners (Child Care Services Association, Durham’s Partnership for Children, Durham Public Schools, and Families & Communities Rising, Inc.) work collaboratively throughout the school year on the application development and launch, child enrollment, program quality, outreach, marketing, and more. You can read more about members of the Durham PreK team on the Governance Committee page, the Quality Subcommittee page, and the Meet the Team page! Keep an eye out on social media for an upcoming “Meet the Partners” campaign on social media!
In the spring of 2019, Durham PreK opened 5 inaugural classrooms in 4 local child care centers. Since then, the program has expanded to include 19 Durham Public Schools sites, 6 Durham Head Start sites, and 31 community-based Durham PreK and NC Pre-K sites. Over ____ families have been served, ____ have been offered a seat placement for 2022-23 so far!
In the spring of 2019, Durham PreK opened 5 inaugural classrooms in 4 local child care centers. Since then, the program has expanded to include 19 Durham Public Schools sites, 6 Durham Head Start sites, and 31 community-based Durham PreK and NC Pre-K sites. Over ____ families have been served, ____ have been offered a seat placement for 2022-23 so far! Durham PreK is proud to support the Durham community by expanding access to high quality pre-K, prioritizing highly-qualified staff and equitable teacher compensation, and reducing costs for families. We can't wait for the school year to start!
If you are looking for more information or helpful resources, the following pages may be helpful:
Learn more about the benefits of pre-K for children, families, and the community, and about the value of play-based learning.
Learn more about the PreK Partners and their pre-K systems, the universal application, and what is considered for classroom eligibility.
Find local resources for all kinds of needs (child care, family health, food security, housing, and more!)
Reach out to us if you have questions or concerns!
The 2022-2023 Durham PreK Application is NOW OPEN! Click here to learn more. | La Aplicación del Durham Pre-K 2022-2023 ESTÁ ABIERTA! Haga clic aquí para aprender más.