TWC Prekindergarten Partnerships

In November 2021, the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) approved $26 million for the expansion of prekindergarten (pre-k) partnerships.

A pre-k partnership is a collaboration between a school district or charter school and one or more quality-rated* child care programs to provide high-quality care and education to eligible three- and four-year-old children. Partners can establish a formal or informal partnership.

In a formal pre-k partnership, eligible children are dually enrolled in public school pre-k and TWC's Child Care Services program, most often receiving their pre-k instruction and wraparound care (the hours before and after pre-k instruction) at the child care center. These partnerships allow child care programs and school districts/charter schools to provide children continuity in care and education, and better support the needs of working families. The teacher of the pre-k partnership classroom must meet certain requirements, such as having a bachelor’s degree, and can be employed by either the school district or the child care program.

For information on additional requirements, please refer to Texas Education Code §29.153-29.1544.

Child care programs and school districts/charter schools may sustain formal pre-k partnerships through a couple of funding streams. TWC’s Child Care Services program covers the cost of wraparound care for eligible children in pre-k partnership classrooms. In addition, school districts/charter schools may pass through state funding (Average Daily Attendance/Early Education Allotment) to the child care program to assist with the costs associated with pre-k instruction.

In addition, TWC will provide eligible child care programs awards of up to $20,000 to assist with start-up costs for each new pre-k partnership classroom.

For more information about potential funding, visit the Texas Education Agency (TEA) Early Learning Partnerships website.

*Child care programs must meet at least one of the five quality criteria in Texas Education Code §29.153(g) to be considered for a formal pre-k partnership.

Example of a Formal PreK-3 Partnership

In informal partnerships, a school district/charter school and a child care program share resources and information, such as professional development opportunities, school-readiness expectations, and parent engagement activities. In informal partnerships, children are not dually enrolled in public school pre-k and a child care program; therefore, no state funding is passed through from the school district/charter school to the child care program. However, informal partnerships can be a great first-step towards establishing a formal pre-k partnership.

Pre-k partnerships can provide numerous benefits to families, child care programs, and school districts and open-enrollment charter school networks.

For families, pre-k partnerships can provide:

• access to high-quality pre-k to support children’s transition to kindergarten;
• consistency between the school day and before or after care;
• better hours for working families who need a full workday of care; and
• a child care curriculum aligned with that of the local school district, which increases children’s school-readiness.

For child care programs, pre-k partnerships can provide:

• higher enrollment and greater financial stability, as programs continue to fill classrooms for three- and four-year-old children while also receiving support and/or funding from the local school district;
• an opportunity to share knowledge and learn from teachers who have received a different type of training and education;
• a pathway to help transition children to public school for kindergarten; and
• increased school-readiness, resources, and professional development opportunities.

For school districts or charter school networks, pre-k partnerships can provide:

• quality wraparound care for longer hours than a typical school day;
• the ability to share school-readiness standards and expectations for future students;
• access to teachers with more rigorous training in developmentally appropriate practice and social-emotional support;
• more pre-k setting options to meet the diverse needs and preferences of families;
• a larger population of eligible three- and four-year-old children without having to build more classrooms;
• increased resources and professional development opportunities;
• open lines of communication with early childhood education programs serving future students; and
• earlier opportunities to engage families.

TWC and TEA hosted a Pre-K Partnership Summit in the spring of 2021 for Local Workforce Development Boards to learn how they can work together in their regions to support and expand pre-k partnerships. Some of the resources shared during the Summit are below:

• Pre-K Partnership Summit Presentation Slides from May 6, 2021
• Pre-K Partnership Summit Presentation Slides from May 7, 2021
• Other Helpful Links from the Summit

• Pre-k Partnership Interest Form
• WD Letter 09-22 “Prekindergarten Partnerships” issued on July 1, 2022
• TA Bulletin 300 “Prekindergarten Partnerships” issued on July 1, 2022
• WD Letter 02-20 “Prekindergarten Public-Private Partnerships and Wraparound Child Care” issued on January 8, 2020