An update on the Cambridge Preschool Program

While we are engaged in the search for our new Executive Director of the Office of Early Childhood, I have been working closely with the very talented staff of the Office of Early Childhood as they complete the work of launching the Cambridge Preschool Program (CPP) in September. The staff have provided information about enrollment for the 24-25 school year as well as the work that is ongoing to begin the application process this Fall for the 25-26 school year.

This memo is a complement to the memo provided to us by Interim Superintendent of Schools David Murphy. Throughout this past year, Mr. Murphy and his team, the City Manager, and I have worked closely with the Office of Early Childhood to design and implement CPP.

As you will see below, the launch of a mixed-delivery universal preschool system in Cambridge has resulted in more than 750 Cambridge 4-year-olds and some 3-year-olds being assigned to preschools across Cambridge Public Schools (CPS), the City’s Department of Human Service Programs (DHSP), and community sites through a unified application process. In addition, as Mr.

Murphy’s memo describes, a number of 4-year-olds and 3-year-olds were assigned to CPS preschools outside of the CPP process through their Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). We are proud of this exceptional community milestone, providing all 4-year-olds and some 3-year-olds in Cambridge with access to a school day high-quality preschool education at no cost beginning this September. 2

As with any new large-scale effort and system implementation, there have been some growing pains. The teams have been working hard to address issues, raised by families and program partners, that can be changed for the 25-26 school year. We will be working together during the upcoming year to determine what other changes might be necessary or possible for the 26-27 school year, for which the application will open in the fall of 2025.

The Cambridge Preschool Program is universal preschool, designed to center equity so that all Cambridge 4-year-olds and some 3-year-olds have access to high-quality preschool. Families may choose from a variety of program options through a single, centralized application process.

OEC, DHSP and CPS worked with BridgeCare (https://getbridgecare.com) to build the online application and matching system. In addition to the necessary application information, families ranked up to 10 preschool programs. Each preschool program has a profile with the necessary information a family would need including the program’s philosophical approach, location, program hours / extended day options, and other factors. The system’s algorithm allocated the best available seat for each child based on the family’s ranked programs and provider capacity at each program.

To date, CPP has placed all eligible 4-year-olds into programs and all priority 3-year-olds. For CPS sites, priority status was based on the child’s household income and Free/Reduced Lunch eligibility. For DHSP and community programs, priority was based on the child’s household income being at or below 65% of HUD Area Median Income (AMI). The data below will continue to fluctuate slightly as the school year goes on as a few additional eligible children apply.

Total number of CPP Applications (as of 7/23/24) 1067 Total number of CPP Assignments (as of 7/23/24) 777 Percentage of children placed by location 41 % of applications received were matched to

Community-Based Preschools (For-Profit, Non-

Profit, Family Childcare)

41 % of applications received were matched to

Cambridge Public School Preschools

18 % of applications received were matched to

Department of Human Service Programs

Preschools

3

CPS

(priority= F/R lunch) DHSP

(priority= 65% AMI)

Community Providers

(priority= 65% AMI)

Total Enrolled