In 2022, Governor Jared Polis signed into law the Colorado Universal Preschool (UPK) program — the state’s first free preschool initiative.
With the 2024-2025 school year application process opening at the end of this month, The Sopris Sun spoke with Stacy Petty, director of the Universal Preschool Local Coordinating Organization (LCO). LCO is responsible for coordinating the UPK program for Garfield, Pitkin, Lake and western Eagle counties.
Petty serves as the director of Rocky Mountain Early Childhood Council (RMECC), the region’s selected LCO. With 35 regional early childhood councils serving Colorado’s 64 counties, RMECC is considered one of the larger ones in the state, serving four counties — Eagle, Garfield, Lake and Pitkin.
From Feb. 29 through March 28, the free application process will prioritize registration for Colorado families with currently enrolled children or their siblings. For families not currently enrolled in the UPK program, the application process will open in early April.
Children who will be 4 years old on or before Oct. 1 are eligible for 15 hours of preschool each week, though some providers only offer schedules of 10 hours per week.
Four-year-olds from families earning between 100% and 270% of the federal poverty level ($31,200 to $84,240 for a family of four) may qualify for up to 30 hours per week. That’s if they meet one of the following criteria: 1) Speak a language other than English at home, 2) have a special education plan, 3) are homeless or 4) are in foster care.
Three-year-olds with identified risk factors, like learning disabilities, can receive up to 10 hours of free weekly preschool.
“For families, it’s going to be very much the same [as last year’s application process] — they’re going to apply, and then they will be awarded based on available funding,” Petty summarized.
Within RMECC’s four-county region encompassing Leadville to Aspen, 115 licensed school, community or home-based providers participate in the local UPK program.
That number will likely change, as Petty said new or returning providers have until Feb. 16 to complete applications.
“The largest amount of our funding comes through the Colorado Department of Early Childhood,” said Petty. “The Buell Foundation provides gap funding where state funding doesn’t cover all the expenses and is currently funding a pretty robust professional development series for all providers and professionals in our region.”
In the first year of its implementation, Petty asked for and gathered feedback from families and providers on procedures that were challenging to maneuver and forwarded those comments to the state.
“According to the certified interpreters we work with, the Spanish translation was not very good,” she explained.
The Spanish-language application and procedures have been tweaked. But that “may take several years to really fine tune,” admitted Petty.
Fortunately, Cindy Rivas, RMECC’s bilingual UPK coordinator, works closely with families and providers.
A total of 928 children within the LCO benefited from the first year of free preschool — 748 were 4-year-olds and 180 were 3-year-olds — according to Petty.
“In most of the conversations with families, they share that this funding is really helpful,” Petty said. She emphasized that the most significant benefit gained by children is kindergarten readiness.
“We’ll start seeing some of this in our kindergarten readiness. Talk to any kindergarten teacher, and they can tell you who’s gone to preschool,” she continued. “They know how to hold pencils and crayons, use paints, cut with scissors and zip their coats. They know how to share, make friends and play collaboratively.”
Petty emphasized that many children who do not attend preschool still have skills in these areas. Families make decisions based on their circumstances, recognizing diverse pathways to early childhood learning.
To learn more about the UPK program and how to apply online, visit the RMECC website at www.rmecc.org or contact Cindy Rivas at crivas@mtnvalley.org or by phone at 970-404-9896.