Updated: July 11, 2016
As many of you know, Oregon Legislature enacted House Bill 3380, the creation of a new, publicly-funded, high quality preschool system in 2015. The model leverages high-quality, local and culturally-relevant early child care and education programs to help make preschool more widely available. By incorporating a “mixed delivery” approach, we are able to provide opportunities for families to access and choose the preschool program which best meets their needs. The Early Learning Division was tasked with developing the model, the implementation process, and working with community partners to create access for children to preschool.
After a thorough community engagement process and work with the Early Learning Council, the preschool model, rules, and implementation process were solidified. The Early Learning Hubs applied in early 2016 to implement Preschool Promise and recommendations were presented to the Early Learning Council for their vote at the March meeting. The five regional hubs selected are as follows:
- Marion & Polk Early Learning Hub Inc.
- Lane Early Learning Alliance
- Southern Oregon Early Learning Hub
- South-Central Oregon Early Learning Hub
- Northwest Regional Hubs
- Northwest Early Learning Hub
- Early Learning Multnomah
- Early Learning Washington County
- Clackamas Early Learning Hub
- Eastern Oregon Community Based Services Hub
We are looking forward to the next phase of the program and working with the Hubs to create these early learning opportunities for Oregon children.