The Polis administration is reminding parents that enrollment for universal preschool starts next week.

Pre-K enrollment for the fall begins Jan. 17. Children will be matched with providers in mid-February.

More than 29,000 pre-K seats are available across Colorado from roughly 850 providers, according to the governor’s office.

Hundreds of child care providers sign up for Colorado’s universal preschool program

“We are bringing high-quality preschool to Colorado kids, saving families thousands of dollars, and making sure Colorado students get a strong start in school,” Polis said in a press release.

In April, lawmakers passed Colorado’s universal preschool program, which will provide 10 hours of free preschool for all Colorado children each week the year before they enter kindergarten.

The program is estimated to save Colorado parents, on average, $6,000 a year, according to the governor’s office.

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The program’s long-awaited launch comes as Colorado struggles with an acute child care shortage, exacerbated in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Every child in Colorado is eligible for half-day, state-funded preschool instruction.

“It’s incredible to see hundreds of school districts and preschools registering to be a part of Colorado’s effort to prepare our kids for the future,” Lisa Roy, executive director of the Colorado Department of Early Childhood, said in a statement.

State-funded pre-K is increasingly a critical part of public education as these programs support early learning to better prepare children for success in school and to reduce achievement gaps, state educators say.

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Since 2002, states have added nearly 1 million pre-K seats, according to the National Institute for Early Education Research. Nationally, roughly 40% of children in families with an annual income of less than $10,000 do not attend any programs prior to entering kindergarten.

While there is no deadline to sign up, families are encouraged to sign up early.

For more information, click here to contact your local coordinating organization.