What’s the DEEL? Department of Education and Early Learning

Department of Education and Early Learning

Thank You, Seattle Child Care Providers and Educators!

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Child care providers, early learning educators, youth development workers, and K-12 teachers play an essential role in the development of our children and a strong social infrastructure. Their value has never been more apparent than during the last year, when life and learning for Seattle’s children and youth took on a drastically different format.

DEEL is deeply grateful for all of our city’s child care providers and educators for their support and nurturing care of Seattle students and families over the last year. They have supported children and families in countless ways, adapted to the challenges of remote learning, and kept students engaged and connected to their school community – and we appreciate all that they do!

In recognition of their service to families and students, Mayor Jenny Durkan has proclaimed today, May 7th, as Child Care Provider and Educator Appreciation Day.

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

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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.  

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City Extends Childcare Copay Relief for Families through June

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Child Care Assistance Program and Seattle Parks & Recreation school-age programs accepting new enrollments with 50% off family copays in Rainier Beach, West Seattle, Magnolia, and citywide.

SEATTLE (March 11, 2021) – The City of Seattle is extending childcare copay relief for income-eligible families through June 2021 in the Department of Education and Early Learning’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) and Seattle Parks and Recreation’s child care programs. Both programs are accepting new enrollments at providers and locations across the city, as more businesses prepare to open and more parents return to work.

“It has been a year since school buildings first closed and parents began navigating how to provide safe and affordable care for their children during the pandemic. Extending our childcare copay relief recognizes the long impact COVID-19 has had—and continues to have—on our families and communities, and we hope it will help relieve some of the strain parents are feeling as they continue dealing with the effects of COVID-19 on their families,” said Mayor Jenny Durkan.

“Accessible and safe childcare is integral to our economic recovery. Vaccination and childcare access, together, will help speed our efforts to safely re-open and work to recover from the COVID-19 recession and impacts. I am delighted to see the city’s childcare investments making an immediate impact for families to continue to receive this vital service, providing stability and safety for both children and their parents,” said Seattle City Council President M. Lorena González (Position 9, Citywide).

The City first announced copay relief in November, with family copays (the amount families owe after their subsidy or scholarship is applied) being waived 100 percent for the final two months of 2020. In late December, Mayor Durkan announced families would receive 50 percent off childcare copays for CCAP and SPR childcare programs from January to March, and this latest announcement extends the 50 percent copay benefit through the end of June. Income-eligible families who sign up for CCAP or who qualify for a scholarship for SPR programs will immediately receive the added assistance.

Monica, a parent whose son is enrolled in the full-day SPR school-age childcare program in Queen Anne, said, “This has been an extraordinarily stressful year financially for me, not to mention the stress of online school. The financial assistance the City has provided allows us to afford other necessities and, more importantly, to keep my son enrolled at the community center for support with his remote schooling.” 

“We’ve long known how vital high-quality, affordable childcare is for families, and this has been especially true during a challenging year when many families are facing loss of income while also needing full-day care for their school-age children,” said DEEL Director Dwane Chappelle. “We’re glad to continue making quality, affordable care more accessible as we move closer to recovery, and we want more families know about these opportunities as many begin going go back to work.”

DEEL’s Child Care Assistance Program helps low- and moderate-income working families or families with a parent attending school or a qualified job-training program to pay for child care for children ages one month through 12 years. CCAP subsidies can be used at any one of the City’s 205 participating CCAP providers.

Seattle Parks and Recreation currently offers full-day care at 17 sites for children ages 5 to 12 and provides children with remote learning supports, enrichment activities, and nutritious meals and snacks. Income-eligible families can receive a scholarship for the program, as well as the additional 50% copay assistance through June 2021. All locations currently have openings for full or partial-week care, with the highest capacity at sites in Queen Anne, Magnolia, Rainier Beach, and West Seattle.

For more information or to enroll at one of Seattle Parks & Recreation’s school-age childcare programs, call 206-615-1276 or visit the SPR website. To apply for the Child Care Assistance Program, which includes care for infants and toddlers, call 206-386-1050 or visit seattle.gov/ccap.

Seattle Department of Education and Early Learning’s mission is to transform the lives of Seattle children, youth, and families through strategic investments in education. www.seattle.gov/education

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Seattle Preschool Grows with Help of Seattle Facilities Funds

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Tiny Tots Directors in Construction Hats
(L-R) Jacqualine Boles, Tiny Tots Director of Health and Family Services; Angelia Hicks-Maxie, Chief Executive Officer; Marcell Lyons, Childcare Compliance Officer

Angelia Hicks-Maxie got into the childcare business, in part because she loves helping kids, but also to follow in her mother’s footsteps. She had dreams to expand Tiny Tots Development Center, first founded by her mother in 1969 as an in-home child care operation, into a multisite, full-service early learning center. 

As an energetic addition to the business in the late 1990s, Hicks-Maxie had a lot of ideas. It was clear to her she would need to seek outside funds to bring those ideas to life, but finding the right sources is no easy task and growth took time.

“Without funding, preschool programs can’t grow. We’re not a profit center. In child care, you make about enough to cover your expenses and pay your staff—and not what they should be paid—and you’re struggling with that. There is no room for you to dip into a fund and say I’m going to get some capital for a new building.” 

Angelia Hicks-Maxie, SPP Provider Facilities Fund Awardee

Along the way, Angelia learned about the Seattle Preschool Program (SPP) Facilities Fund, which invests in the expansion and improvement of high-quality learning environments for participation in the City’s award-winning preschool program. SPP provides Seattle three- and four-year-olds with access to high-quality, culturally responsive preschool services that improve kindergarten readiness and support subsequent academic achievement.  

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Seattle Preschool Program Sites Receive Funding for Facilities Improvements

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SEATTLE (February 17, 2021) – The Department of Education and Early Learning (DEEL) has announced that more than $727,000 has been awarded to improve and expand preschool facilities at four locations participating in the Seattle Preschool Program (SPP). All four programs receiving capital funding are owned by women and persons of color who serve linguistically and culturally diverse children in south and central Seattle.

The Seattle Preschool Program facilities funding is part of the Families, Education, Preschool and Promise (FEPP) Levy, and is designed to help providers build, upgrade, and renovate their spaces for SPP, providing increased access to high-quality preschool for Seattle families and contributing to greater kindergarten readiness for the City’s youngest learners. This year’s investment will improve existing classrooms, develop a new community-inspired playground, and add 20 new SPP slots for children to attend the City’s award-winning program.

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Child Care Stabilization Fund Opens COVID Relief Funding for Seattle Child Care Providers

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Applications for more than $2 million in grants for licensed child care providers, and family, friend, and neighbor caregivers in Seattle opened on January 15, 2021, as part of the City of Seattle’s Child Care Stabilization Fund.

Few sectors have been so essential and yet felt as much financial impact during the COVID-19 pandemic as the child care industry, and DEEL is excited to be working with our partner Child Care Resources, who is adminstering the grant and offering application assistance and language support to child care providers.

Grants up to $10,000 are available for licensed child care providers and school-age only programs operating within Seattle city limits. Grants of $500 are also available to income-eligible family, friend, and neighbor caregivers living in Seattle who care for children aged 0-12 more than 10 hours per week.  

Additional information:

  • LICENSED PROVIDERS & SCHOOL-AGE-ONLY PROGRAMS
    • Application deadline: Wednesday, January 27
    • Provider application: Click here
    • Provider FAQs (eligibility, grant info, etc.): Click here
    • Application documents available in Spanish, Somali, Simplified Chinese, Amharic, Tigrinya, and Vietnamese upon request
    • Contact the Child Care Resources Provider Line at 1-800-446-1114 for lanugage support and assistance in completing applications.

  • FRIEND, FAMILY, & NEIGHBOR CAREGIVERS
    • Application deadline: Friday, January 29
    • FFN application: Click here
    • FFN FAQs (eligibility, grant info, etc.): Click here
    • Application documents available in Spanish, Somali, Simplified Chinese, Amharic, Tigrinya, and Vietnamese upon request.
    • Contact ffn@childcare.org for language support and assistance in completing applications.

Child care stabilization grants are noncompetitive; however, should demand exceed available funds, prioritization will go to FFN caregivers below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level and to licensed providers and school-age only programs who are serving families on state or city subsidies or who are in a priority geographic area using the City’s Office of Planning & Community Development’s Race and Social Equity Index. 

Applicants should contact the Child Care Resources Provider Line at 1-800-446-1114 to receive language support and assistance in completing their application. Notification of awards will be sent by February 15, with disbursal of funds beginning in late February. 

Seattle Preschool Program Wins National Honors Again for High-Quality, Accessible Programming

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Seattle Preschool Program logo

City’s Pre-K program wins its fourth silver medal from national study of the 40 largest U.S. cities.

SEATTLE (December 18, 2020) – Last week, the Seattle Preschool Program (SPP) was awarded its fourth silver medal for preschool programming from CityHealth and the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) at Rutgers University. The honors stem from an annual, national report released by NIEER that rates how 40 of the largest U.S. cities are leading on policies that address health and well-being, including high-quality, accessible pre-K. This is the fourth year in a row that SPP has won a silver medal. Enrollment in both in-person and remote SPP classes is still available for this school year through March 14, 2021. Applications for the 2021-2022 school year will open in March.

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Interested in Becoming a Seattle Preschool Program Provider?

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The Seattle Preschool Program Request for Qualifications is now OPEN!

The Department of Education and Early Learning (DEEL) is excited to announce the opening of the Seattle Preschool Program (SPP) Request for Qualifications (RFQ) as part of the Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise (FEPP) Levy, passed by voters in 2018. 

The FEPP Levy aims to achieve educational equity, close opportunity gaps, and build a better economic future for Seattle students. FEPP preschool and early learning investments provide access to high-quality early learning services that promote success in kindergarten.

The purpose of this RFQ is to identify qualified early learning providers in Seattle to join the Seattle Preschool Program. DEEL will host two informational webinars to answer questions about this opportunity. Information sessions will be held on Friday, December 11, 2020 and Wednesday, December 16, 2020. Session times and access information will be updated here when available.

Click HERE to learn more about this funding opportunity and access RFQ documents. Submissions will be accepted through January 7, 2021 at 5:00 p.m.

SPP launched in the 2015-16 school year with the goal of providing accessible, high-quality preschool services for Seattle children designed to improve their readiness for school and to support their subsequent academic achievement. DEEL will expand SPP annually with a goal to serve 2,500 children by the 2025-26 school year.

Learn more about SPP and its results here.

Families can apply for SPP participation here.

Child Care Copay Relief for Families Announced through the End of 2020

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The Department of Education and Early Learning (DEEL) recently announced all remaining costs for families participating in the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) will be covered through the end of 2020. Families not yet participating in CCAP are encouraged to apply by emailing DEEL at ccap@seattle.gov or calling (206) 386-1050.

“CCAP has a long history helping families alleviate the costs of child care,” said DEEL Director Dwane Chappelle. “This fall, we’ve heard from both providers and families about the difficulties families are facing in covering the cost of care due to school closures and other economic impacts. Our team at DEEL is thrilled about this opportunity to put more money back into families’ pockets as we enter the holiday season.”

The CCAP Copay Relief announcement was also made in conjunction with news from Seattle Parks and Recreation that SPR’s childcare programs will also cover family costs through December 2020. Read the full press release from the Mayor’s office last Friday announcing the news for both of these City childcare programs serving families during this school year that has brought so many challenges for both parents and young learners.

The immediate response from CCAP families has been extremely positive as they learned about the financial relief they’d be receiving just ahead of the holiday season. “What this program does for struggling families never ceases to amaze me,” one parent wrote to the DEEL team. “I’d like to thank the entire organization for checking in and doing the best they can to support community members.”

For more information on the Child Care Assistance Program, visit seattle.gov/ccap.

Partner Chat: Rory Gill, Seattle Preschool Program Teacher

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SPP Teacher Rory Gill in a fist-up pose
Photo: Rory Gill, Seattle Preschool Program Teacher (Photo provided by Rory Gill)

In celebration of DiscoverU 2020, a week of college and career exploration, we’re featuring an interview with Rory Gill, Seattle Preschool Program (SPP) Teacher at Daybreak Star Preschool and recipient of the Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise (FEPP) Levy funded SPP teacher scholarship.

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