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In fall 2022, PGCPS established two new Judy Center Early Learning Hub sites at Bradbury Heights Elementary School and Rosa L. Parks Elementary School to join existing sites located at Carmody Hills Elementary, Cool Spring Elementary and Hillcrest Heights Elementary. The focus for Judy Center Early Learning Hubs is to enrich, enhance, and provide comprehensive early childhood programs and services for children and families, ages prenatal to five. These early intervention programs and services aim to build young children's school readiness skills.
Each Judy Center Early Learning Hub is equipped to address the ongoing needs of children and families when kindergarten students enter school lagging behind children in Prince George’s County and the State of Maryland on the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA). All Judy Center Early Learning Hub sites provided the following programs:
Additionally, Judy Center Early Learning Hub sites provided case management services to families to address further needs of families. The PGCPS Early Learning Office is working with the PGCPS Office of Building Services on a physical plan for 10 additional centers that will accommodate the expansion of prekindergarten in the district by the school year 2029-2030.
The state of Maryland promises to invest in high-quality early childhood education and expand the number of seats for Tier I students who are ages 3 and 4. Tier I students are identified as experiencing poverty, experiencing homelessness, students with disabilities, and/or English language learners. Increased access to early learning will provide opportunities to ensure all students enter kindergarten ready to learn.
Additionally, community-based private PreK providers now have the opportunity to receive public funding, if staff meet quality standards which include certification and training for teachers and assistant teachers. Working with private providers will offer additional seats to PreK students.
The PGCPS Early Childhood Office and Early Learning Office, in collaboration with the PGCPS Testing, Research and Evaluation Office, ensures that there are ample training sessions for new teachers to be fully trained to administer the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA) based on guidance from the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) prior to the testing window. Refresher courses for teachers who have previously administered the KRA are also available.
Prior to the Accountability and Implementation Board (AIB) fully approving PGCPS’ Blueprint Implementation Plan, the district provided quarterly updates to keep stakeholders informed. The card below will take you to the final update regarding Kindergarten Expansion as of July 2023.