As Cleveland’s 3- and 4-year-olds enter preschool this fall, there are more than 700 additional high-quality preschool openings throughout the city since last September according to PRE4CLE, Cleveland’s plan to expand high-quality preschool to all 3- and 4-year-olds.

The 700 additional high-quality openings are the result of an additional 46 preschool sites that received a high-quality rating of 3, 4, or 5 stars in the state’s Step Up to Quality rating system since last September. The sites include 15 Cleveland Metropolitan School District preschools and 31 community-based schools, child care centers, and Head Start settings. In addition to the 46 new high-quality sites, 11 preschools that were already considered high quality took additional steps to further increase their quality and their ratings since September 2016. Many of these programs still have openings available.

“We are thrilled that there are so many new high-quality opportunities as a result of the great partnership between preschool programs and PRE4CLE’s lead organization, Starting Point,” said Katie Kelly, executive director of PRE4CLE. “We are also excited that PRE4CLE continues to make significant strides toward our goal of expanding access to high-quality preschool to all 3- and 4-year-olds in Cleveland.”

Eric Gordon, CEO of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and co-chair of Cleveland Early Childhood Compact, said the preschool expansion matters to the children of Cleveland. “High-quality preschool is a core component of Cleveland’s Plan for Transforming Schools because we know the impact it has on children’s development.  By the age of five, 90% of a child’s brain is developed. High-quality preschool programs help build a strong foundation during that critical window,” he said. “We see these results first hand in our classrooms when children who have attended a high-quality preschool enter kindergarten prepared to succeed.”

PRE4CLE offers resources to help Cleveland families identify the right high-quality preschool for their children. To find the right high-quality preschool openings in their area, parents should visit pre4cle.org/enroll or call Starting Point, Northeast Ohio’s childcare referral agency at 216-575-0061.

List of Sites

Cleveland Metropolitan School District Sites Rated Since September 2016:

1. Artemus Ward Elementary School
2. Bolton Elementary School
3. Charles Eliot Elementary School
4. Clara Westropp Elementary School
5. Garfield Elementary School
6. Barbara Booker Elementary School
7. Harvey Rice Elementary School
8. Luis Munoz Marin Elementary School
9. Marion Seltzer Elementary School
10. Riverside Elementary School
11. Sunbeam Elementary School
12. Wade Park Elementary School
13. Warner Girls Leadership Academy
14. Wilbur Wright Elementary School
15. Willow Elementary School

Highly Rated Community-Based Sites Since September 2016:

1. A Jubilee Academy
2. Andrea Tufts-Peterson
3. Angels on Earth
4. Apples of Gold Child Care
5. Apples of Gold Child Care 2
6. Brightside Academy – Kinsman
7. Buckeye Head Start
8. Children First of Cleveland
9. East End Neighborhood House
10. Friendly Inn Settlement
11. Glenville Early Learning Center
12. Intergenerational Day Care
13. Kidz R Kidz
14. Lakeview Terrace Head Start
15. Market Square Horizon Education Center
16. Milagros Cruz
17. Murtis Taylor Child Enrichment Program
18. Murtis Taylor at Kathryn Tyler
19. Nahshonda Cundiff
20. Nottingham Child Care Academy
21. Old Brooklyn Horizon Education Center
22. Renee Gaffney
23. Riverside Head Start
24. Sabrin Powell
25. St. Adalbert
26. Stonebrook Montessori
27. Superior Academy
28. Thinking Cap Child Care
29. Urban Community School
30. Wade Early Learning Center
31. Weekare

Existing High-Quality Providers that Increased Quality since September 2016

3 Stars to 4 Stars

1. Fundamentals Early Childhood Development Academy
2. Lexington-Bell Early Childhood Services
3. Maribel Guerra
4. Merrick House Settlement & Day Nursery
5. Weekare DayCare

3 Stars to 5 Stars

1. Corinna Bryant
2. The Early Childhood Center at Arbor Park

4 Stars to 5 Stars

1. Buckeye Head Start
2. East End Individual Learning Center
3. Outhwaite Head Start
4. Villa Head Start