Preschool for All: Step by Step: A Planning Guide And Toolkit, Updated Draft

This planning guide and toolkit is designed to help the First 5 California Commission on Children and Families, school districts, early care and education providers, and families work together to phase in the Preschool for All Initiative. The major purposes of the guide include: (1) review options for phasing in access to preschool for all, with a special focus on local implementation; (2) provide guidance that is practical at the county, city, and school district level; and (3) help localities get in position to respond to the growing possibility of preschool as a Statewide reality. The planning guide contains the following sections or “tools”: (1) overview of the status of the movement for voluntary, universal preschool; (2) guidelines for the development of a quality preschool for all program; (3) information on how to assess the supply and potential demand for preschool services; (4) information on how to estimate the cost of making quality preschool accessible to all; (5) suggestions on how to finance preschool for all; (6) research findings on children’s growth, family experiences, and program effectiveness; and (7) suggestions for making the local case for the Preschool for All Initiative.