Prince William County will be receiving $10.5 million dollars over the next four years to start a new Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI+) program for preschoolers.
The county has had a Head Start and VPI program for several years, but this new VPI+, which is set to start in September, will allow more children to receive preschool services.
While the Head Start and VPI programs were funded by state and local dollars in the past, this new preschool initiative will help the county to provide programs without as much financial strain, according to Phil Kavits, the Director of Communication Services for Prince William County Schools.
Kavits stated that previous state grants provided for preschool programming on the local level required millions of dollars in exact matching funds, which came out of the county’s budget each year.
“The difference between the VPI+ and VPI is VPI is funded by the state and some local dollars. VPI+ is a brand new grant that the state, the Department of Education at the state level, just received from the federal government,” said Kathy Channell, Administrative Coordinator for the county’s Head Start and VPI+ programs.
The federal funding comes from an initiative put forth by President Obama to expand preschool offerings, and the funding is coming from the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said Channell.
The Virginia Department of Education will receive $17.5 million each year from the grant funding over the next four years, totaling $70 million. The state has decided to distribute these funds across the state.
“The Virginia Department of Education then funded eleven school divisions around the Commonwealth, to serve VPI+ 4-year old students,” said Channell.
According to Kavits, the VPI+ program will allow the county to help 575 additional preschoolers during the next four years.
In order for children to be eligible for the VPI+ program, they must live below 200% of the income poverty level – $48,5000 a year for a family of four, Channell stated.
“They can be children who are homeless, they can be children that are below that 200% level of income poverty, they might be children with special needs,” said Channell.
Channell stated that the program will provide comprehensive education and services to the children to help them grow and develop before entering the Prince William County Public School system.
“It’s a high quality preschool program for children who may otherwise not be able to have a pre-K experience prior to going to school…[there are] degreed teachers, and they’re holding Virginia State teaching certificates. So they’re offering a pre-K program to those children, which will not only include education, but has some comprehensive services within it as well – health, nutrition, mental health, family engagement – and that will all be a part of this program,” said Channell.
To check for program eligibility, parents need to call the VPI+ office at 703-791-7200.
*This story has been corrected.
