Minor glitches in the first year of the program should not misdirect Coloradans from understanding our state has taken a massive leap forward.
universal preschool
Posted inEducation
In two Aurora neighborhoods, school buses and RVs are the classrooms
Most summer days, the students of You be You Early Learning unleash their torrent of energy in a classroom shaded by a canopy of cottonwood leaves, with slivers of sunlight cascading over them as they play rounds of musical chairs after learning how to add numbers or identify the different kinds of bugs living in […]
Posted inEducation
Are 15 hours of free preschool a week enough? For many Colorado parents, the answer is “no.”
The state will introduce its new “universal preschool” program this fall, providing a minimum of 15 hours of preschool for all kids the year before they start kindergarten. Working families say they need more.
Posted inEducation
Tens of thousands of Colorado families have matched with a universal preschool provider. Another 2,300 will have to apply again.
The Colorado Department of Education matched families during the first round of applications and will begin pairing applicants from the second round with providers next month
Posted inEducation
New Colorado preschool program’s matching system not ready for prime time, education groups worry
Education and early childhood groups have sought to delay notifications because they see too many problems, including whether Colorado has the money to cover promised classroom hours.
Posted inEducation
Colorado parents can now apply for universal preschool. Here’s what they need to know.
State officials expect about 30,000 children to opt into the universal preschool program in its first year. That’s about half the number that will be eligible.
Posted inEquity
Colorado’s child care crisis shows no sign of waning
Timing was everything for Jaiya Jermulowske and her husband, Kory. They knew they couldn’t afford to have two kids in day care at the same time, so the couple— who live about 35 minutes south of Steamboat Springs — planned their second pregnancy around child care. When her son, Kayson, was born, Jermulowske left her […]
Posted inColoradans, Education, News
Colorado is lowering teacher qualifications amid staff shortage a year before expanding preschool access
Tens of thousands of Colorado children will be eligible to enroll in the state’s expanded preschool program come fall of 2023, but as an educator shortage has swelled to “crisis” levels, pressure is mounting to find enough teachers to staff classrooms. One solution the state implemented in December: lowering the bar on credentials to become […]
Posted inCOVID, Education, Equity, Health, Housing, News, Politics and Government
The need for preschool has never been greater — and never harder — for struggling Colorado families to get
By Carina Julig, The Sentinel On a cold morning in mid-November, a group of children were learning the days of the week inside a renovated bus parked in the Willow Park neighborhood of Aurora. The brightly-decorated bus is home to You Be You Early Learning’s preschool program, which began serving students in the subsidized-housing neighborhood […]
Posted inColoradans, Education, News
What should Colorado’s new Department of Early Childhood look like? Leaders want parent, teacher say.
State officials want the input of parents, teachers and child care providers before launching what the governor’s office calls a bold new initiative: reinventing how Colorado provides services to preschoolers. Starting in 2023, the state will provide at least 10 hours a week of free preschool to every kid in the year before kindergarten. But […]