PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia’s free preschool program is almost 10 years old and still growing.
Mayor Cherelle Parker said the city added 100 new seats to Philly pre-K this year, bringing the total to more than 5,300 at 238 preschools, 97% of which received the highest quality rating from the state — almost double what it was when the program started.
“High-quality early childhood education is one of the smartest, most impactful investments any community can make,” Parker said.
She announced two additional new investments. One is a recruitment and hiring hub that she said will streamline finding and onboarding teachers.
“This hub will help reduce the administrative and financial burdens of the clearances, the hiring logistics and the advertisements.”
The other is raising the city’s reimbursement rate to the centers by $12.50 per child per month, beginning in January.
The city’s expansion comes as the federal government is poised to make changes to Head Start, which funds most of the district’s pre-K seats. Critics say it will degrade the program.
