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MAYOR WU, BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS
ANNOUNCE STEPS TO INCREASE AVAILABILITY AND VARIETY OF PRESCHOOL SEATS FOR
BOSTON FAMILIES
Boston UPK seeks additional
community-based and family child care providers.
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BOSTON
- Tuesday, March 21, 2023 - Mayor Michelle Wu today announced two opportunities
to expand access to pre-kindergarten
(UPK) for Boston’s 3- and 4- year-olds through the release of two
applications, or invitations for bids (IFBs). Together, these funding opportunities
will create more seats for Boston’s youngest learners and represent an expanded
investment in universal, affordable, high-quality early education and care for
all infants, toddlers, and children under five.
“We’re
determined to make Boston the first choice for families, and that includes
closing gaps in access and availability of early education options," said Mayor
Michele Wu. "I know all too well the stress of juggling work and
family with very young kids—expanding universal Pre-K will not only give our
littlest learners the foundation they deserve in life, but also empower working
parents and caregivers in our workforce."
“Providing
our families with quality pre-kindergarten options for our 3- and 4-year-old
children is critical to ensuring that learning gaps do not form and that
students' academic, social-emotional, and physical needs are met holistically,”
said Superintendent Mary Skipper. “We are so fortunate to have a Mayor
who prioritizes the needs of our youngest students and their families and
provides the necessary resources to meet such a critical need. Quality UPK is
what we need as a foundation for our students of Boston.”
“I
have always been an advocate for our young people,” said Boston School
Committee Chairperson Jeri Robinson. “Programs like Universal Pre-K are
vital to the health and well-being of our communities and I applaud this
incredibly positive and consequential program from Mayor Wu.”
In
Boston, the Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) model is a mixed delivery
portfolio of programs funded by the City of Boston, offering high-quality
choices for children ages three and four living in the city at no cost to
families. UPK is a 6.5-hour school day for 180 days per year. The portfolio is made
up of three settings: Boston Public Schools; community-based providers; and
family child care providers.
Applications
to Open For New Providers to Become UPK Partners
Boston
UPK is seeking applications from child care providers in the City of Boston to
become UPK partners. UPK partners receive funding from the City of Boston to
expand the number of high quality, free preschool opportunities accessible to
families. The funding opportunity for community-based providers – nonprofit and
for-profit organizations, early education providers, private schools, religious
schools – is now open on the City of Boston supplier
portal for providers to apply.
“To
have a great childcare center, we must have highly trained, skilled, creative,
professional, and passionate teachers. We are facing difficult workforce
challenges,” said Kathy Cheng, Director of the Acorn Center for Early
Education and Care at Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center. “With this
funding and the consistent support from the UPK team and our coach, we are able
to retain teachers with competitive wages, build a strong professional
development track, and provide rich learning classroom materials.”
UPK
Expansion to Integrate Family Child Care Providers
Boston
UPK will further expand its options for families by including family child care
(FCC) providers in the 2023-24 school year. Family
child care providers offer families more flexible hours,
multilingual or mixed-age settings, and sometimes more affordable services.
This expansion will allow families to access UPK when and where it is most
convenient for them. The expansion follows year-long engagement among BPS, the
Office of Early Childhood, 20 FCC providers, members of the UPK
Advisory Board, and other experts to create the new FCC model.
“Integrating
family child care into the portfolio of Universal Pre-K provides an additional
high quality setting for families in Boston,” said TeeAra Dias, Director of
Boston Universal Pre-K. “Most importantly, it ensures continuity of care
and family choice.”
This
FCC application will be available on the city
supplier portal on March 27.
Instructions,
a full timeline, and tips for applying for either of the bids through the City
of Boston, including details on upcoming virtual information sessions, can be
found here.
“I‘m
excited about the integration of UPK into FCC programs. This is the boost that
FCC providers need to highlight that we are not babysitters but educators,”
said Claudette White, a family child care educator. “We are business
owners and educators that manage high-quality early education programs.”
In
partnership with community-based and family child care providers, Boston UPK
will offer up to 1,475 seats, an increase of 350 seats. This is in addition to
3,621 K0 and K1 seats in Boston Public Schools classrooms.
Boston families
interested in learning more about applying for Pre-K can visit www.bostonpublicschools.org/upk.
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