The Durham PreK Application is Now Open!

It’s that time of the year again! Do you want to give your child the best social and emotional foundation possible? Look no further! Jumpstart your little one’s academic future by enrolling them into one of our Durham PreK programs for the 2024-2025 school year. 

All children living in Durham County who will be 4 years old on or before August 31, 2024, are eligible to apply. Early applications are strongly encouraged. View the video to learn more and apply at the button below. 

During National Apprenticeship Week, the Durham Early Childhood Educator Apprenticeship program was thrilled to spotlight four of the participants in our inaugural cohort. Meet these four apprentices to learn more about why they decided to become early childhood educators, what excites them most about the apprenticeship program and their hopes and goals for their careers.

When children start preschool they learn a lot of fundamental skills such as listening to or following directions. However, these skills can also be developed at home before your child starts school. Check out naeyc.org for helpful tips on how to teach your little one self-control! 

Dr. Iheoma Iruka is a professor and researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She serves as a Fellow at UNC’s Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG), where she is the Founding Director of the Equity Research Action Coalition. Dr. Iruka has authored numerous articles as well as a book, “Don’t Look Away: Embracing the Anti-Bias Classroom,” published in April 2020 by Gryphon House. She has spent seven years in service to Durham PreK, first in 2016 on the Preschool Task Force and then as a founding member and the first chair of Durham PreK’s Governance Committee. Dr. Iruka has seen Durham PreK through all stages, from idea to implementation and through continuous improvements.

We are thankful to the Bull City Sigmas for truly putting the word “giving” into Thanksgiving as they partnered with us in November and provided Thanksgiving meals for 35 families! We appreciate their continued support of the Durham community and Durham PreK!

Greetings to our loyal readers and a warm welcome to our newcomers! For those who were forwarded this email, we invite you to subscribe to receive our bi-monthly issues and stay up to date on all things Durham PreK.

You can also stay up to date on Durham PreK events, offerings, and more by signing up for text messages through StepAhead. Complete this form or text DPK to 1-833-773-5338 to begin receiving reminders from us.

Together, we can strengthen our community and make a positive impact on the educational journey of preschoolers everywhere. Thank you for being a part of this inspiring journey with us.

Have you checked out our website? Visit www.durhamprek.org for more updates on Durham PreK and early childhood education, and follow us on:

Durham PreK is Durham County’s local commitment to equitable access to high-quality preschool for all children in Durham. Investments will not only increase the number of publicly funded pre-K slots, but also broaden eligibility and work with teachers and private centers to build their quality through teacher and director education, mentoring and coaching.