By: Carrie Bale, Executive Director, Muncie & Delaware County BY5—
Free Pre-School Opportunities Still Available
Muncie, IN— On My Way Pre-K, Indiana’s state-wide initiative providing eligible 4-year-olds free pre-school in select counties, has found recent success in Delaware County. The program was initiated by Governor Holcomb and is administered by the Family and Social Services Administration’s Office of Early Childhood and Out of School Learning.
Ten counties were chosen for a recent expansion of the program, which had a soft rollout in January 2018. Each county was given a designated number of pre-school slots to fill. Delaware County not only filled its original thirty slots, but was granted ten additional slots due to its early successes.
The ten slots are still available. To be eligible, children must be 4 years old, going to kindergarten in the fall of 2018 and their caregivers must meet certain income requirements. Caregivers must also be working or going to school. Once a family is determined eligible, they can choose to send their child to any of the 17 high-quality On My Way Pre-K pre-school providers within Delaware County.
Muncie and Delaware County BY5 act as the lead agency for On My Way Pre-K in Delaware County. The agency spearheads collaborative On My Way Pre-K efforts, works to secure funding, and helps with general recruiting efforts. “BY5 works at a county-wide level to ensure that from birth onwards, we’re developing a workforce capable of meeting future employment demands. That begins by giving our youngest citizens the opportunity to develop their potential through education,” says BY5 Executive Director Carrie Bale. “When the opportunity to apply for the ‘On My Way Pre-K’ expansion opportunity became available, BY5 was the likely choice to apply on behalf of Delaware County due to our broad, far-reaching focus.”
Still, Bale attributes Delaware County’s accomplishments to collaboration between multiple stakeholders, including Huffer Childcare Resource and Referral, the BY5 Family Navigator Network, On My Way Pre-K manager Toni Bond, and participating pre-school providers.
“At the core of our county’s current successes are partnerships and relationships,” says Bale. “We all need to see ourselves as part of the solution in order for this work to succeed.”
The official roll-out of the Delaware County On My Way Pre-K program is slated for August 2018, at which time 125 additional pre-K slots will become available. Families can determine their eligibility by filling out an application at www.onmywayprek.org. For more information, contact Toni Bond at 765-283-4223.
BY5 is a non-profit working to get all Delaware County kids ready for Kindergarten—and life.
