Find Posts By Topic

City Announces New Seattle Preschool Program Classrooms and Opening of 2021-2022 Applications

This week, the City of Seattle announced that applications for the 2021-2022 school year for the Seattle Preschool Program are now open. The program also welcomed three new partner agencies and 14 new classrooms to be added in the fall, bringing the total number of SPP classrooms to 129 and total number of preschool slots to more than 2,000.  

Joining the family of SPP providers are Hilltop Children’s Center, Community School of West Seattle, and West African Community Council (WACC). On Tuesday, March 16, DEEL Director Dwane Chappelle joined Mayor Jenny Durkan and WACC Director Issa Ndiaye for a site tour at WACC’s One Family Learning Center in Rainier Valley, where children got to participate in an outdoor reading circle with the Mayor.

Mayor Durkan engages in an outdoor reading time with preschoolers at West African Community Council’s One Family Learning Center in Rainier Valley.
Mayor Durkan and preschoolers at West African Community Center

Full details about programming for the 2021-2022 school year aren’t yet available, but SPP providers are preparing to receive more children in person. DEEL is also supporting City vaccination efforts with a focus on preschool teachers and childcare workers, who are now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.  

“We are excited at the opportunity for more of our City’s youngest learners to gain access to a high-quality preschool environment this year, especially on the heels of the greatest interruption to learning we have seen in our lifetime,” said DEEL Director Dwane Chappelle. “We know that the learning foundations built at this age have significant impacts on future academic success, and we are incredibly grateful for all our SPP providers who have been on the frontlines serving children since the pandemic hit, adapting their programs so the negative impact on our children is minimized.”  

WACC Director Issa Ndiaye leads Mayor Durkan on a site tour of one of the Seattle Preschool Program’s newest sites, WACC’s One Family Learning Center in Rainier Valley.

“In West African culture, success is not limited to having a good job and food on the table but includes how one helps their family, friends, and neighbors to attain the same educational and professional momentum they have achieved,” said Issa Ndiaye, founder and executive director at West African Community Council, whose One Family Learning Center in Rainier Valley offers dual-language programming and is one of this year’s SPP expansion sites. “West African Community Council is proud to serve our community and partner with the Seattle Preschool Program to provide important early education opportunities, especially for our friends and neighbors in the Black/African American community.” 

DEEL is proud to welcome the following partners and classrooms into the Seattle Preschool Program!

  • West African Community Council – One Family Learning Center – New SPP partner!
  • Hilltop Children’s Center – New SPP partner!
  • Community School of West Seattle – New SPP partner!
  • Tiny Tots Early Learning Collaborative – New FCC location
  • Associated Recreation Council (ARC) at Alki – New location 
  • Educare Early Learning Center – New classroom
  • Seattle Public Schools (SPS) @ Magnolia Elementary School – New site
  • Seattle Public Schools (SPS) @ Northgate Elementary School – Head Start – New site
  • Seattle Public Schools (SPS) @ Cascadia Elementary School – Head Start – New site
  • Seattle Public Schools (SPS) @ MLK – Head Start – New site
  • Seattle Public Schools (SPS) @ Wing Luke Elementary – Head Start – New site

Read the full press release here.

Families can apply for Seattle Preschool Program at seattle.gov/applySPP.