DAVENPORT AREA EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PROVIDERS JOIN TOGETHER
TO MAKE PRESCHOOL A REALITY FOR MORE FOUR-YEAR OLDS

A collaborative team of community partners who focus on early childhood education in the Davenport/Blue Grass/Buffalo/Walcott area are working together to provide additional no-cost preschool opportunities for area four-year olds through the new Statewide Voluntary Preschool program for Four-Year-Old Children. The allocation of funds is intended to improve access to quality early childhood education by providing a minimum of 10 hours per week – typically at two hours per day – and at no cost to families.

The existing partners in this effort are hosting a partner meeting on Thursday, September 6th at 3:15 p.m. at the Children’s Village West at 2826 West Locust Street to announce their next steps in terms of outreach and implementation of the program now that funding has been received. This meeting is open to all area preschool providers.

Applications for the initial funding were competitive, and the joint effort was designed to not only position the Davenport community for success in attaining the funds, but also to provide optimal programming for local children through a number of sources in the community. The purpose of the new funding program is to provide an increased opportunity for young children in Iowa to enter school ready to learn by expanding voluntary access to quality preschool curricula for four-year-old children. State-determined requirements for such quality curriculum includes the development of standards and benchmarks for learning, the oversight of licensed teachers, support for children with special needs, and continuity of programming.

Although these are already imbedded facets of the preschool opportunities currently offered by the involved partners in the initial application for funds, a new opportunity now exists for other providers in the area to join the effort by collaborating directly with existing partners in strengthening their abilities to meet the standards and qualify for the funding.

While the program does not guarantee access to preschool for all four year olds (nor is it intended as ‘daycare’), it does help to improve both access and quality of available programming for more families. More information will be provided at the meeting about expectations of the Statewide program, how the funding will be distributed, and what steps the current partners have put into place to build availability of these no-cost four year old preschool slots.