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Preschool For All

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First 5 has a new website! Please visit http://www.co.sanmateo.ca.us/first5 and update your bookmarks Information on the old First 5 web site will not be updated as of November 10, 2008. To be sure that you are accessing our latest information, please go to the URL indicated above.       Preschool For All (PFA) San Mateo County is proud to take the lead as the first county in California to implement Preschool for All.  First 5 San Mateo County (F5SMC) has made a 10-year commitment to support voluntary preschool for all three and four year olds in San Mateo County and has selected the San Mateo County Office of Education as the lead agency to carry out the program with eight partner agencies.  First 5 San Mateo County in collaboration with First 5 California, the County of San Mateo and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, will invest more than $10 million over the first three years (2004-2007) to launch Preschool for All. The vision of PFA San Mateo County is, by 2010, to have every child in San Mateo County enter school prepared to succeed. The Mission of PFA San Mateo County is to ensure access for all three and four year olds to high quality care and education that promotes success in school and life. PFA San Mateo County will achieve this by supporting working families and by being available in a range of settings, affordable to all, and easy to navigate. Core values of PFA San Mateo County: PFA program practices will be research-based, and culturally and developmentally-appropriate. PFA will address the needs of the whole child. PFA will take place in diverse settings that meet families' needs. PFA will be inclusive of all children, including those with special needs. PFA will involve collaboration and partnerships with families and communities. PFA will build upon existing resources. PFA will use accountability to obtain excellent results. Why PFA is Important? Quality preschool increases children's ability to develop emotional, intellectual and social skills that benefit them throughout school and life. Children who attend preschool are more likely to attend college, be better socialized, and are less likely to become involved in crime or have unwanted pregnancies. According to the California Research Bureau, currently 35 percent of the county's three to five year old children are not in preschool. One reason that families do not enroll their children in preschool is that quality programs are often not affordable. A recent supply and demand study of San Mateo County revealed that more than 70 percent of families would enroll their children in a quality preschool program that is affordable or free. Where and when PFA will start? The boundary areas of the Ravenswood and Redwood City School Districts will be the first locations to receive new and upgraded preschool slots. These sites were selected because they have the highest percentage of English Learners, low income children, F5SMC School Readiness sites, and more than 10 percent of San Mateo County's preschool age children reside there. The first classrooms are scheduled to open in March 2005. By June 2005, 34 classrooms will serve more than 700 children and by June 2007 over 1,400 children will be served in a variety of classroom settings. Eligible Sites: PFA will fund the PFA portion of the day in classrooms that are part-day only, part-day with wrap-around services, or full-day programs. Different types of early childhood programs are eligible to take part in PFA. To be specific, eligible programs will be: Publicly funded Head Start Centers accountable to the Federal Head Start Performance Standards State Preschools of General Child Care programs funded by the California Department of Education/ Child Development Division and accountable to Title 5/Desired Results Privately funded centers (non-profit and for-profit) accredited by National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Large family childcare homes (serving 10 or more 3 and 4 year olds) accredited by National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) Eligible Children and Families: Interested parents will complete application forms during a window of enrollment; there will be a random selection process if the number of applications exceeds the number of spaces. Four-year-old children residing in the target communities and those with special needs will receive enrollment priority. Program Quality: One of the main objectives of PFA is to increase program quality. PFA will employ Center and Family Child Care Quality Standards that "raise the bar" and build on the existing quality standards of NAFCC, NAEYC, Title 5/CDE and Head Start. The standards address 12 performance areas including: curriculum quality, assessment, group size/ratio, staffing qualifications and compensation. External validation and monitoring will assure that participating programs meet the quality standards. Workforce Development: Research tells us that better-educated teachers are more responsive, give feedback that is more positive, are more engaged, and are associated with higher test scores and social emotional well-being in children. The PFA initiative will ensure that a qualified workforce is available to meet the needs of all children enrolled in PFA preschools. PFA is committed to compensation parity with the K-12 system. PFA will require at least one teacher in every classroom to have a Bachelor's Degree by 2010. In 2004 an individual can be qualified as a PFA teacher with an AA, but must be working toward a higher degree. Partner Agencies: Child Care Coordinating Council of San Mateo County The Institute for Human and Social Development Peninsula Partnership for Children, Youth and Families Professional Association for Childhood Education Ravenswood City School District Redwood City Elementary School District San Mateo County Community College District San Mateo County Human Services Agency For more information or to request an enrollment application, please contact either: San Mateo County Office of Education Jeanie McLoughlin, Director Preschool for All jmcloughlin@smcoe.k12.ca.us (650) 802-5345 First 5 San Mateo County (650) 372-9500 Links to PFA Documents Universal Preschool Feasibility Study PFA Scope of Work PFA Center Base Quality Standards PFA Family Child Care Quality Standards PFA Spanish Family Child Care Quality Standards Development of PFA (Power Point Presentation) Development of PFA Quality Standards (Power Point Presentation) The Evaluation of PFA Implementation in San Mateo County-Full Report Year 1 The Evaluation of PFA Implementation in San Mateo County-Executive Summary Year 1