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Department of Education and Early Learning Announce Applications Now Open for ’18-’19 School Year, Additional Sites Added

Today, the Seattle Preschool Program announced the start of its 2018-19 application cycle and celebrated the expansion of 22 additional classrooms for the next school year.

Applications are now open for all 4-year-olds in the city regardless of family income level. Three-year-old children whose families meet income eligibility are also welcome to apply at this time. Visit seattle.gov/applyspp to check out our new sites and apply to the Seattle Preschool Program.

14 new locations will be available for Seattle Preschool Program families in the '18-'19 school year.

14 new locations will be available for Seattle Preschool Program families in the ’18-’19 school year.

As applications for the final year of the SPP Pilot open, the Seattle Preschool Program is on-track to exceed its demonstration phase goal of 75 classrooms by the end of this school year. The 22 new classrooms will continue to increase the geographic diversity of the program, with significant growth in neighborhoods throughout Seattle, so that families in more areas can access high-quality preschool near their homes.

“Preschool is one of the most powerful tools we have to change the trajectory of a child’s life,” said Department of Education and Early Learning Director Dwane Chappelle. “Expanding Seattle’s commitment to affordable, high quality preschool throughout the City is how we deliver for our kids.”

In 2014, Seattle voters approved Proposition 1B (Ordinance 124509) to fund a four-year pilot of the Seattle Preschool Program. The Seattle Preschool Program helps prepare children to enter school with the skills they need to succeed. Research shows that children who attend high quality preschool programs have better academic and life outcomes: they’re more likely to have better grades, graduate, attend college, get a job, have higher lifetime wages and better mental and physical health.