For the second year in a row and in year four of our pilot, the Seattle Preschool Program was awarded high honors by a national assessment of preschool programs. This national report assessed how the largest U.S. cities address health and well-being issues awarded honors for high-quality preschool programs, out of 40 programs across the country, only 5 programs receiving higher honors than the Seattle Preschool Program.
CityHealth, an initiative of the de Beaumont Foundation and Kaiser Permanente, analyzed the nation’s 40 largest cities for ten key policies that experts say are the standards for highly effective programs. CityHealth awarded each city a gold, silver, bronze, or no medal, according to their performance in the assessment. Nationwide, 33 out of 40 cities received a medal for high-quality Pre-K.
The Seattle Preschool Program again shares the silver medal in preschool quality with Albuquerque, Chicago, Detroit, Kansas City, Louisville, Philadelphia, and Virginia Beach.
“We are thrilled with Seattle Preschool Program’s designation in this year’s Pre-K in American Cities report,” said Monica Liang-Aguirre, Director of Early Learning for the City of Seattle. “This report confirms our commitment to ensuring our programs are of high quality and I’m proud of accomplishments of our early learning providers during this pilot. I’m also thankful to the Seattle voters for approving the expansion of SPP over the next seven years. We know that as more children have access to the high-quality preschool, Seattle will be a stronger city in the future.”
The Seattle Preschool Program was approved in 2014 by voters to fund a four-year pilot of the Seattle Preschool Program. It was recently approved in 2018 for an additional seven years as part of the Families, Education, Preschool and Promise Levy. 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.
To apply to the Seattle Preschool Program visit seattle.gov/applyspp
