As a parent of a 4-year-old, I am so excited by the prospect of enrolling my son in a public pre-K program this fall. Not only would he gain valuable cognitive and social skills, our family would save thousands of dollars in child care expenses. It’s a win-win.

Unfortunately, our school district only offers two pre-K classrooms – not nearly enough. And, with two working parents, the six-hour day will be logistically challenging. Even so, we have entered the lottery, and our fingers are crossed. Across Maine, only 40% of 4-year-olds are enrolled in public pre-K, with local school districts facing a number of barriers to expansion. L.D. 1799 can help.

The bill proposes to help Maine create more full-day public pre-K opportunities with support for a “mixed-delivery” model. Which means public pre-K in a variety of settings: community child care centers, elementary schools and family child care among them.

Leveraging investments in pre-K to support programs across the community offers families clear benefits and best practices in early childhood education, including continuity of care from birth through age 5, mixed-age group settings, before- and after-care for working families, and family choice. For communities, a mixed-delivery model offers opportunities to efficiently maximize resources by using existing buildings and spaces already designed for early learning; by leveraging existing early childhood care and education funding streams; and by retaining developmentally appropriate practices and settings.

I urge legislators and Gov. Mills to support L.D. 1799.

Katie Soucy
Topsham