Preschool program grows slowly, but gaining steam

Organizers say it's 'like trying to ride the bike while . . . assembling it'

By Daniel J. Chacon, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published April 22, 2008 at 11 p.m.

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Photo by Linda Mcconnell / Special To The Rocky

Sophie Neuschatz, 4, front left, and Katya Lyubchenko, 4, front right, listen to a story read by teacher Katie Thompson at Montview Community Preschool and Kindergarten on Tuesday.

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Fewer than 700 kids are enrolled in a voter-approved Denver Preschool Program that was supposed to handle 4,000.

But enrollment numbers are expected to grow to 3,800 by August and possibly 6,600 in the future.

"In a five-year period, we're going to exceed the number that we thought could be enrolled," James Mejia, the program's executive director, said Tuesday.

"When you start with 65 children (enrolled) in November 2007 and you're looking at at least 3,800 in August 2008 . . . we're growing exponentially, and that means things are going pretty well to get to that stage," he said.

Denver City Councilwoman Carol Boigon, who is on the program's board of directors, agreed.

The program had to be started from scratch, from obtaining nonprofit status to getting the word out to parents, she said. Also, the first year was a roll-out, she said.

"This is kind of like trying to ride the bike while you're assembling it," she said.

The program, which provides parents of preschool-age children tuition credits to use at the participating preschool of their choice, was born in November 2006 when Denver voters approved a sales-tax increase to fund it.

On Tuesday, Mejia and Pamela Harris, chief operating officer, gave a council committee the first progress report on the program.

Mejia said there are now 141 preschool sites with 258 available classrooms and that 1,301 parent applications of the nearly 2,300 submitted have been approved. An additional 898 parent applications are under review, he said.

Some program changes are being considered, including tuition for parents who have their kids enrolled longer than six hours.

"We're trying to adjust to the reality of how parents have their children in care, which may be from early in the morning until the evening," Mejia said.

Mejia also presented a 2008 budget, which caught the attention of Councilwoman Jeanne Faatz, a fiscal conservative and the lone Republican on the council.

Faatz, who had opposed the sales-tax increase, questioned why only $4.3 million of an $11.8 million budget was being spent on tuition credits for parents.

"This is not high enough for my expectations," she said.

After the meeting, Mejia and Gloria Higgins, the president of the board, said more money will be spent on tuition credits in the future. But the program calls for quality preschool education, so more money will be spent on quality improvement grants for preschool providers in the early years, they said.

In 2008, nearly $2 million is being budgeted for such grants.

"It's all for kids, whether it goes to the provider or it goes to the parent," Mejia said. "If it goes to the provider, it's going into classroom improvements, so it's still positively affecting the kids."

chacond@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5099

Denver Preschool Program

* What is it? DPP provides a monthly tuition credit ranging from $50 to $1,000 per child for nine consecutive months. The tuition credit is based on family income, family size and the quality rating of the preschool.

* How to use it: The tuition credit may be used with any preschool provider licensed by the state that has a contract with the Denver Preschool Program, regardless of where that provider is located.

* Qualifications: Resident of the city and county of Denver; child is in the last year of preschool before being eligible for kindergarten.

* Apply: Applications are available online at denverpreschoolprogram.org. Proof of age, residency and income are required. A self-employment affidavit may be completed, but if income information isn't provided, the minimum tuition credit will be awarded.

* Information: 720-264-4555 or denver preschoolprogram@acs-inc.com

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