Pre-K Partnerships

A prekindergarten (pre-k) partnership is a collaboration between a school district or charter school and one or more quality-rated child care programs, with the goal of providing high-quality care and education to eligible children. There are two kinds of partnerships: formal and informal. When your program enters a formal pre-k partnership, children are dually enrolled in public school pre-k and TWC’s Child Care Services program at your center. TWC provides funding to expand the ELP’s schedule to include wraparound care (the hours before and after pre-k instruction). The dual enrollment combined with TWC’s program provides children with continuity in care and education, and supports the needs of working families. When your program enters an informal partnership, the district or charter school and child care program share resources and information; but, because children are not dually enrolled in public school pre-k and a child care program, the child care center is not eligible for additional funds.

To be eligible for a pre-k partnership, a community-based child care provider must meet one of the following criteria:

• • are a Texas Rising Star program provider with a three-star certification or higher
  • are nationally accredited
  • are a Head Start program provider
  • are a Texas School Ready! participant
  • meet the prekindergarten program requirements outlined in Sec. 29.1532 of the Texas Education Code

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