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First Steps News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 27, 2006
[ link to pdf ]
First Steps Begins Accepting Provider Applications
for Private 4K Expansion Pilot Program
Columbia, S.C. – First Steps to School Readiness
announced today that it has begun accepting applications for
an innovative 4-year-old kindergarten (4K) expansion pilot to
operate within non-school district settings. The pilot was established
by the 2006 General Assembly in response to Circuit Court Judge
Thomas W. Cooper’s ruling in the school funding suit that
S.C. must expand early education programs for low-income children.
The General Assembly allocated nearly $8 million for First Steps
to expand 4K in private settings and $16 million for the State
Department of Education to expand 4K through the state’s
public schools. The pilot extends to income-eligible children
residing in the school funding suit’s trial and plaintiff
districts.
“In South Carolina, and across the
nation, there is a growing recognition that high quality early
education increases the probability of long-term academic success,
especially among disadvantaged children,” said S.C. First
Steps Director Susan DeVenny. “We’re grateful for
the General Assembly’s leadership on behalf of the state’s
youngest learners and believe this program marks a renewed emphasis
on early childhood education in South Carolina.”
Private for-profit, private non-profit, faith-based, Head Start
and other non-school district settings may apply if they meet
the following qualifications:
- be licensed, registered OR approved by the SC Department
of Social Services;
- use an approved, research-based curriculum;
- offer 180, 6.5-hour instructional days per year; and
- employ a teacher who has at least a two-year degree in
early childhood education and is working toward a four-year
teacher education degree.
The groundbreaking pilot program will allow parents to choose
centers across district and county lines to accommodate work
schedules or other matters of convenience. While only income-eligible
children from the 36 districts involved in the suit will qualify
for state funding during 2006-2007, eligible providers need
not be located within a plaintiff district.
Children who meet eligibility requirements may not be charged
to participate, and approved centers will be reimbursed up to
$3,077 per eligible child enrolled, with additional funding
possible for both equipment and transportation. Eligible children
must reside in a plaintiff school district, be four years old
by September 1, 2006, and qualify for Medicaid or free- or reduced-price
lunch.
“We had a very short timeframe during
which to develop a truly pioneering program to serve S.C.’s
4-year-olds. We’re not only proud of the result, we’re
actually ahead of our deadline,” said Dan Wuori, S.C.
First Steps deputy director. “What we are unveiling is
an accountable 4K system designed to produce real results.”
In recent weeks, S.C. First Steps has ramped up efforts to spread
the word about the pending application process. Information
has been funneled to child care providers via the First Steps
county partnership offices, and a webpage (www.scfirststeps.org/4K.htm)
has been set up that allows providers to request updates and
download an application to become an approved center. Providers
may also request a mailed for faxed application.
Link to Guidelines, Student Application,
Provider Application and Frequently Asked Questions
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