Denver Preschool Program
Denver Preschool Program[edit]
The roots of the Denver Preschool Program can be traced back to the early 1990s when former Denver mayor Wellington Webb brought new focus and community attention to children’s issues, including care and education for young kids. With Mayor Webb leading the charge, a group of community leaders decided to take action to prevent Denver families from losing access to early childhood programs threatened by city budget cuts. Inspired by publically funded preschool programs in California and Kansas, these advocates pushed for a ballot initiative that would use taxpayer dollars to support local organizations dedicated to early childhood education.
Denver voters sharply rejected a measure in 2000 and a similar one the following year. Analysis of the measures and campaigns found that they were unsuccessful for three primary reasons. First, they were viewed to be too broad and lacking focus, as each measure would have provided funding for a number of support services for low income children, including child care, school-based health care, food support and after-school programming. Second, they lacked a broad base of support among voters. While social service providers and the early childhood community backed the measures, there was not broad public understanding of the need for or support of the proposals. Third, supporters lacked the financial resources necessary to run a competitive campaign. While unsuccessful, the efforts were valuable learning experiences that informed and shaped the successful 2006 measure. “At the time Denver voters did not fully understand the impact this kind of program could have,” said former Denver councilwoman Carol Boigon who worked with Mayor Webb to develop both measures. And yet, the advocates didn’t give up. “Sometimes when you want to do something big and different it takes time,” Councilwoman Boigon commented.
Following the end of Webb’s term, a group of local leaders representing Denver’s early childhood, business and philanthropic communities worked on a new data-based strategy to garner voters’ support for a new initiative. Supported by former Denver mayor John Hickenlooper and Denver City Council, the Preschool Matters initiative was conceived and voted on in 2006. The ballot measure was approved.
Although the margin of victory was small, the vote created a .12 percent sales tax that would generate more than $10 million a year to fund the Denver Preschool Program through 2016. During that time, the funds were used to improve the quality of local early childhood education programs and lower the cost of preschool tuition for Denver families.
To prevent the program from expiring in 2016 (ref: https://denverite.com/2016/10/24/denver-question-2a-need-know-denver-preschool-program-tax/), Hickenlooper’s successor Mayor Michael B. Hancock appealed to the public in 2014 (ref: https://www.denverpost.com/2014/08/01/move-ahead-on-denver-preschool-program/) for continued support. Mayor Hancock asked Denver voters to not only approve the sales tax for another decade, but also to raise it to .15 percent (ref: https://www.denverpost.com/2014/11/04/early-results-favor-denvers-preschool-program-by-54-percent/). The ballot measure was approved in November, 2014 (ref: https://www.denverpost.com/2014/11/05/preschool-program-will-continue-to-fund-tuition-for-denver-4-year-olds/).
In response to the passing of the measure Mayor Hancock said “I believe in the Denver Preschool Program because it helps prepare all of Denver’s children, no matter where they live or what color their skin, to have successful futures. If our youngest are prepared to enter kindergarten ready to learn, they’re more likely to read at grade level by third grade, and that means they’re more likely to graduate, go on to college and beyond.”
Reach and Size[edit]
- TOTAL NUMBER OF CHILDREN SERVED FROM 2006-2017: 45,989 (ref: https://dpp.org/research-and-results/our-results)
- TOTAL NUMBER OF TUITION CREDITS DISTRIBUTED FROM 2006-2017: $92,888,490
- TOTAL AMOUNT INVESTED IN PRESCHOOL QUALITY IMPROVEMENT FROM 2006-2017: $13,634,952
- TOTAL NUMBER OF CHILDREN SERVED DURING 2016-2017: 4,709 (ref: https://www.denverpost.com/2014/10/01/denver-preschool-program-is-working-for-our-children/)
- TOTAL NUMBER OF PROGRAMS (2016-2017): 251
Services[edit]
PRESCHOOL TUITION SUPPORT: Through the Denver Preschool Program, tuition credits are available to all families that live within the City and County of Denver and have a 4-year-old enrolled in a participating preschool program in the year before kindergarten (ref: https://kdvr.com/2013/08/08/how-to-pick-a-preshool/). Tuition credits are distributed based on a sliding scale, which takes into account family income, the quality rating of the chosen preschool program and the length of day the child attends. (ref https://www.denverpost.com/2017/01/17/denver-preschool-program-raises-tuition-support/)
QUALITY IMPROVEMENT: DPP invests nearly $2 million annually into more than 250 individual preschools within the City and County of Denver. This investment provides programs with strategies, professional development and improvements to help deliver quality education to Denver’s 4-year-olds, supporting DPP’s values of highly effective teachers, intentional teaching and positive teacher-child interactions.
Governance[edit]
Board of Directors[edit]
Chris Watney (Chair), People and Possibilities LLC
Zach Hochstadt (Vice Chair), Mission Minded, Inc.
Susan Steele (Secretary/ Treasurer), The Temple Hoyne Buell Foundation
Dr. Rosemarie Allen, Metropolitan State University of Denver | Institute for Racial Equity & Excellence
Michael Baker, Gold Crown Management
Councilwoman Stacie Gilmore, Denver City Council District 11
Anna Jo Haynes, Mile High Early Learning
Dr. Rebecca Kantor, University of Colorado Denver, School of Education & Human Development
Penny May, Office of Mayor Michael B. Hancock
Amber Münck, Greenberg Traurig LLP
Janice Sinden, Denver Center for the Performing Arts
Mike Yankovich, (Past Chair) Children’s Museum of Denver at Marsico Campus
Staff[edit]
Jennifer Landrum, President and CEO
Ellen Braun, Deputy Director
Marina M. Mendoza, Director of Enrollment and Evaluation
Chris Miller, Director of Quality Initiatives
Tricia Nelson, Communications Manager
Angeles Ross, Office Manager
External Links/References[edit]
- https://www.denverite.com/denver-question-2a-need-know-denver-preschool-program-tax-20526/
- http://www.denverpost.com/2017/01/17/denver-preschool-program-raises-tuition-support/
- http://www.denverpost.com/2014/08/01/move-ahead-on-denver-preschool-program/
- http://www.denverpost.com/2014/11/05/preschool-program-will-continue-to-fund-tuition-for-denver-4-year-olds/
- http://kdvr.com/2013/08/08/how-to-pick-a-preshool/
- http://www.denverpost.com/2014/11/04/early-results-favor-denvers-preschool-program-by-54-percent/
- http://www.denverpost.com/2014/10/01/denver-preschool-program-is-working-for-our-children/
- https://dpp.org/research-and-results/our-results
Denver Preschool Program[edit]
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