Source: Minnesota Department of Education
Voluntary prekindergarten was established by Gov. Dayton and the 2016 Minnesota Legislature for the purpose of preparing children for success as they enter kindergarten the following year. The funding allows districts, charter schools with recognized early learning programs, or a combination thereof, to incorporate a voluntary pre-K program into their E-12 system. The new funding is sufficient to provide high-quality early learning programming to approximately 3,700 4-year-olds in the first year.
After reading through the Voluntary Pre-K Program Q & A and the Voluntary Pre-K Application Process Q & A, interested districts and charter schools should complete the Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten Application and submit it to MDE online by 4 p.m. on Friday, July 1, 2016.
MDE has also scheduled three webinars regarding the program and the application process:
- Wednesday, June 8: 11 a.m. to noon | Register here
- Friday, June 10: 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. | Register here
- Thursday, June 23: 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. | Register here
See http://education.state.mn.us/MDE/StuSuc/EarlyLearn/VolPre-K/index.htm for more information.
