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First Steps News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 30, 2006
[ link to pdf]
First Steps Approves 14 Private Preschool Providers
for Groundbreaking 4K Expansion Pilot
Columbia, S.C. – Fourteen private preschools have
been identified by S.C. First Steps as the first approved for
participation in the South Carolina Child Development Education
Pilot Program. Created by the S.C. General Assembly in June,
the pilot is a groundbreaking effort to expand high quality
4-year-old kindergarten in both public and private settings.
Bishopville-Lee Child Care Center in Lee County received the
agency’s first approval.
“We are delighted
to recognize Bishopville-Lee as a private 4K pioneer. With its
32-year history of providing high quality services to the children
of Lee County, we know the program will serve as a model for
others statewide,” said First Steps’ Deputy Director
Dan Wuori. “Today, Bishopville-Lee joins 13 other outstanding
providers in offering new choices to South Carolina children
and their families.”
Current 4K expansion funding is targeted to serve children from
plaintiff school districts named in the state’s recent
equity funding lawsuit. Since the pilot program allows parents
to choose centers across district and county lines, however,
preschool providers need not be physically located within plaintiff
districts to serve eligible children. In the four weeks since
launching the program, First Steps has received applications
from more than 80 private, faith-based, and Head Start providers
in 23 South Carolina counties and over 300 preschool providers
have attended informational meetings to learn more about the
program. The final deadline for applications is September 29,
2006.
To become an approved center, private for-profit, private non-profit,
faith-based, Head Start and other non-school district settings
must 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.
Once approved, providers may enroll children who reside in a
plaintiff school district, are 4-years-old by September 1, 2006,
and qualify for Medicaid or free- or reduced-price lunch. Centers
enrolling eligible children will qualify for $3,077 per child,
up to $185 per child for transportation, and materials and equipment
grant funding of up to $10,000 to equip new classrooms.
A full list of approved providers and application materials
can be found on the S.C. First Steps webpage (www.scfirststeps.org/4K.htm).
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