Oakland County parents will now have more access to free early childhood education through the state’s Great Start Readiness Program.

The Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP) has awarded $8.7 million in GSRP start-up grants to open 348 more pre-Kindergarten classrooms statewide this fall and expand access to no-cost pre-K for over 5,000 4-year-olds.

In Oakland County, grants will open 52 new classrooms in 16 public school districts and nine private facilities.

“We have children at the earliest part of our careers with the highest amount of debt, so families being able to afford high quality early education is difficult,” said Rhonda Meyer, CEO of Heartfelt Impressions Learning Centers. “This grant will allow us to buy the materials, set up the classrooms and insure that we have everything we need to get started.”

The grants provide $25,000 to help offset the costs of opening new pre-K classrooms including staff recruitment and training, facility improvements, outreach materials, and instructional materials such as curriculum and classroom supplies.

Programs follow a school year schedule September through June. There are part-day, full-day, and four- and five-day pre-K options available. Before and after school care and transportation are offered at some locations.

“Every 4-year-old deserves an opportunity to enroll in pre-K regardless of who they are, where they live, or what their family can afford to pay,” said Michelle Richard, MiLEAP acting director. “MiLEAP is proud to partner with early learning centers in schools and communities to open new classrooms and create more opportunities for 4-year-olds to learn and grow.”

GSRP is only available to 4-year-olds. To qualify, family incomes must be below 300% of the Federal Poverty Level with priority given to children in lower income families.

“As a small non-profit school, the co-op is incredibly grateful for the start up grant. We have been struggling since the pandemic and this money will allow us to replace aging furniture and restock all of the supplies needed in a play-based program,” said Jacqueline Murphy, teacher/director at the Brighton Cooperative Preschool.

Getting results

The state does not have a specified curriculum for GSRP classrooms that differ from a regular or tuition-based preschool.

According to the 2023 revised GSRP curriculum manual, the state “does not identify one ‘best’ curriculum model, but rather supports preschool curriculum models that meet specific criteria.”

According to Heartfelt’s Myers, there are six approved for use.

Research shows the impact of GSRP pre-K education can have both short term and long term effects.

Based on 2018-2019 data, GSRP participants demonstrated higher proficiency levels on the state standardized assessment in both English and math than children who did not participate in publicly funded early childhood programs.

Long term results have also shown the advantages of GSRP pre-K participation.

A 1995-96 study done by Ypsilanti-based HighScope Educational Research Foundation followed 338 GSRP children and 257 eligible children who did not participate in GSRP from kindergarten through high school graduation.

Their study found that 57% of GSRP participants graduated high school on time, as compared to 43% of non-participants.

Since launching the grant program in 2023, the state’s investment has totaled $18.5 million for providers in all 56 intermediate school districts resulting in 749 new and expanded classrooms.

By the numbers

An August 2023 survey by the state education department and Michigan State University showed an impressive economic impact thanks to GSRP.

Family earnings totaled $155.4 million, family savings on child care costs were $148.4 million, and state funds invested in GSRP of $456.5 million for a total $720.7 million contribution to Michigan’s economy.

Of the survey’s 5,212 respondents, 87% said their child’s participation in GSRP enabled them to work. Of the families whose children attended a four-day or half-day program, 30% said they would work more if their children could attend GSRP longer than their current weekly schedule.

According to a 2022-2023 state evaluation report from MSU, 38,467 children were served by GSRP, a nearly 6% increase over the previous year. The number of children served by GSRP that year surpassed the pre-pandemic high of 37,369.

Approximately two thirds of GSRP classrooms were operated by local school districts, public school academies, or intermediate school districts. The other third were operated by community-based non-profit organizations, for-profit companies, and universities.

How money is being used

According to the state data, 35 new GSRP classrooms will be opened this fall in 16 Oakland County public school districts.

Berkley Schools Early Childhood Supervisor Katie Fotiu said the district was awarded $75,000 this year’s grant, allowing them to offer four new classrooms — two classes are an extended program (Monday-Friday instead of Monday-Thursday) and two are half-day classes. The district will now have nine GSRP classrooms in total.

The district served 162 preschool students last year; 72 were GSRP students.

“We have an early childhood center, Berkley Building Blocks, that houses all of our youngest learners. BBB has care for infants through 5-year olds, including tuition preschool, Head Start and GSRP classes,” said Fotiu. “The expansion of offerings allows Berkley Building Blocks to fulfill the greater need of the Berkley School District community. It allows us to expand our high quality programs to more families, free of cost, and that is a wonderful thing.”

Fotiu said the district will be ready to fully staff all of their new classrooms.

Holly has early childhood classrooms in all four of its elementary buildings and was awarded $100,000 to open four new classrooms with this year’s grant money. Last year the district ran six GSRP classroom and are now prepared to run up to 14 this fall depending on enrollment.

“The increased funding will play a key role in supporting our continued efforts to provide a high-quality early childhood education to our Broncos,” said Superintendent Scott Roper: “Additionally, the grants help support training for our staff to ensure high-quality learning experiences for all students.”

Holly is also prepared to fully staff their new classrooms.

“We are excited that several of our associate teachers are currently in programs to complete their certification and become lead GSRP teachers, and we are happy to support them in their efforts,” said Roper.

Heartfelt Impressions has locations in the Rochester, Clarkston and Lake Orion districts and serves 200 pre-kindergartners. They have worked with Oakland Schools for over 10 years to place children at their facilities if needed.

“I feel we have a great relationship. In the last two years, we have been able to convert classrooms that started out as tuition-based classrooms and been able to offer our parents GSRP because there were still spots left halfway through the year,” said Myers. “In some cases it saved our families $8,000 in tuition.”

Myers estimated the cost for a tuition-based child to enroll in a full-day, year around program in a northern Oakland County private facility is $16,000 to $18,000 per year.

“Public schools are not marketing machines, so one of the benefits of working with a community based organization like Heartfelt is that we do understand modern marketing,” said Myers. “So us being at the table and open to GSRP is actually a win.”

Early impact

Myers said there have been two significant barriers to filling spots for students in GSRP classrooms.

“Lack of awareness of the program and trust,” she said. “Families have to have a relationship of trust for the first time they are dropping off their child somewhere. Trust is built through awareness and engaging with them earlier.”

Myers said they work with districts like Rochester to help place students who are having difficulty with transportation, proximity or a waitlist; they work to find ways to get children into GSRP classrooms.

“We work very closely with Laura Brown, who is Rochester schools’ pre-K consultant, and I have nothing but great things to say about them and also working with Oakland Schools,” said Myers.

The new classrooms will have an impact on the number of Oakland County children put on a waitlist.

According to the MSU report, 26 children were on that list for 2022-23, up from 19 the previous year. There were over 400 students statewide who were waiting for spots in GSRP classrooms.

Heartfelt’s Myers also addressed the importance of pre-K education.

“Pre-K is not kindergarten and there is a dynamic developmental difference between a just-turned 4 year old and a 5 year old,” said Myers. “This grant allows us to put really high-quality materials, such as books, into classrooms, because you have to have books that represent lots of ideas because we are introducing literacy to these children in meaningful ways.”

Learn more and find a GSRP or Head Start program at MiFreePreschool.org.