COLUMBIA, S.C. – State officials and agencies providing early childhood services held a press conference at Brookland Academy at 8:30 a.m., Wednesday, February 5, to launch PalmettoPreK.org, a new, online portal designed to help families in South Carolina find publicly-funded, preschool options for their 3- and 4-year-old children. Officials who spoke at the launch included: South Carolina’s Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, Speaker Jay Lucas, South Carolina House of Representatives, David Morley, Chair of the SC Early Childhood Advisory Council (ECAC) and SC First Steps Board of Trustees and Georgia Mjartan, Executive Director of the ECAC and SC First Steps and Chair of the Palmetto Pre-K Committee.
For the first time ever, families can access data across multiple agencies in a single search to find preschool options for their 3- or 4-year old children. The portal empowers families to search for free pre-k programs based on zip code, income level and other qualifying criteria. The mobile-friendly tool indicates the child’s eligibility for free pre-k, populates a list of conveniently located preschool centers as well as provides descriptions, photos and testimonials of each program option. First Steps 4K, Head Start, public school 4K (CERDEP) and SC Vouchers are all available on the portal.
The state’s leadership supports efforts for improved access to publicly-funded preschool. “When we provide high-quality learning to our state’s youngest children, we not only give them the foundation they need to become productive citizens of our state, but also provide their parents the opportunity to find meaningful work. Improving educational outcomes benefits families and our state as a whole, which means a brighter future for all,” stated Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette.
“It has been a great experience working with our agency partners to create this empowering new tool which will help hard-working families in South Carolina find quality, publicly-funded, educational options for their children,” said Georgia Mjartan, Executive Director of South Carolina First Steps and the SC Early Childhood Advisory Council.