By Juan Jocom

Seattle is providing high-quality, accessible early learning programs but the sessions are under-enrolled including four opportunities around Capitol Hill and the Central District.

For the second year in a row, the Seattle Preschool Program has been awarded a gold medal rating by CityHealth and the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University for the system’s high quality and accessible preschool programming.

“Seattle was one of 22 cities, out of 75 rated by CityHealth, to receive a gold medal award for high-quality, accessible preschool programming this year” the Office of the Mayor reports.

Living in one of the world’s most expensive cities poses challenges, especially if raising a child is added to the equation but programs like SPP can make these challenges more manageable. It also helps prepare kids for academic success.

“High quality preschool helps all children be ready for kindergarten and sets them up for better success in school,” early learning division director Leilani Dela Cruz said in an email.

Despite this celebrated achievement, the programs around the Capitol Hill and Central District area remain under enrolled. There are currently nine programs in the Capitol Hill and Central District area and four are still enrolling for the 2023-2024 school year.

Programs like what SPP offers help to soften the blow of child care, especially in a city that is growing more expensive each day. Seattle residents with children between the age of 3 to 4 within the respective school year are eligible to apply for the program.

Additionally, families of 4 making less than $105,00 annually, qualify for tuition-free enrollment, and a sliding scale tuition is offered for families who are earning above 94% of the median income in Seattle.

Officials say enrolling a child through an SPP program can be beneficial not only through enriching a child academically, but also enriching the cultural worldview of the child.

One of the variety of program models that SPP offers is dual-language programming, where the main focus of the program is to develop the language skills of a child, especially for the ones who speak a heritage language at home.

“Research indicates that bilingual children are cognitively, academically, intellectually, socially, and verbally more advanced than monolingual children,” The Department of Education and Early Learning’s annual report reads.

The SPP prides itself for being a diverse program. In the school year 2021- 2022, out of 1,959 students served, 77% were students of color, with 37% of them with immigrant or refugee background.

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