Expanding to all-day pre-kindergarten for eligible 3 and 4-year-olds is underway, and a panel of experts discussed how a mixed delivery model can be successful. 

The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future boasts some of the most innovative strategies for ensuring all students have equal access to a high-quality education. The expansion of pre-kindergarten services is part of that strategy. This will help young learners start off on solid footing when entering school. The MACo Summer Conference panel, “Small Learners, Big Impact: Your Pre-K Expansion Roadmap in the Blueprint Era,” discussed some of the ways school districts have begun rolling out the programs and what successes and challenges they have encountered.

Representatives from the state, local, and private sector organizations described the ideal mixed delivery system. They shared that while it is ambitious, they believe it can be accomplished with greater communication and collaboration across state and local agencies and private businesses, particularly around the private sector portion of the pre-k expansion plan.

Local education agencies so far are focusing their primary efforts on tackling the portion of pre-kindergarten that is internal to the local school system, with Anne Arundel sharing on the panel that they are going so far as to explore redistricting to accommodate the space needed. As far as the external component of the mixed delivery system, it will require more coordination between the State Department of Education, the Department of Labor, and local business development agencies to help existing and prospective child care providers understand the process and benefits associated with becoming a certified pre-k program.