Preschool Promise enrollment is open, offers tuition assistance

New Horizons Childcare Center in Evanston has been around for 37 years. Now it's one of the preschools offering slots for Cincinnati's Preschool Promise. The program will help send 3- and 4-year-olds to preschool for the next five years. Priority will be given to 4-year-olds under 200 percent of the poverty level. The Preschool Promise tuition assistance program officially launches in a couple weeks, but enrollment is already open. Vanessa White, the operations director for Preschool Promise, said that research has shown a year of preschool helps prepare children for kindergarten. Participating schools need at least a three-star quality rating from the state. New Horizons went from two stars to five starts to qualify for Preschool Promise. Quality ratings are based on things like teacher certification, curriculum and tracking of student progress. The $15 million Preschool Promise funding includes money to help preschools qualify. So far, 32 preschools in the Cincinnati area are enrolled in the program. However, they still need more, especially in so-called "quality deserts," areas without enough qualifying preschools to meet the need. For more information, check out the Preschool Promise website.