The Denver Preschool Program’s 2011 Impact Report is here!

As a community-supported program tasked with increasing access to quality early childhood education, we want to keep all Denver citizens informed of our progress and success.

Click below to download the latest edition of our Impact Report, which highlights our 2011 accomplishments. Most importantly, you will find the results of our annual evaluation, which demonstrate that Denver Preschool Program children are not only making significant progress during their preschool year, but that the vast majority of them are leaving the program ready for school.

Thank you for your time and interest in the Denver Preschool Program's commitment to quality early childhood education!

2011 Impact Report

 

The Denver Preschool Program is issuing a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for organizations interested in serving as our Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS™) Ratings Agency. Below you will find the RFQ for purposes of your review, and we invite you to submit a response if our requirements align with the services provided by your firm. Thank you.

Denver Preschool Program - CLASS™ Ratings Agency RFQ

The Denver Preschool Program is issuing a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for management of its customer service and data management contract. Below you will find the RFQ for purposes of your review, and invite you to participate in submitting a response if our requirements align with services provided by your firm.

Denver Preschool Program - RFQ Customer Service and Data Management Vendor

RFQ Customer Service - Questions and Answers

Denver Preschool Program Kids are Ready for Kindergarten

 
The results of the Denver Preschool Program's 2011 evaluation are in, and we are proud to announce that the evaluation points to a program that is getting results for Denver's kids. The annual evaluation findings indicate that students in the Denver Preschool Program make significant progress during their preschool year - above and beyond what would be expected based on normal development - and that the vast majority of children leave the Denver Preschool Program ready for kindergarten. Research shows that kids who are better prepared for kindergarten are more likely to be successful in school and later in life.

“We conduct an annual evaluation each year to see how we are doing,” says Eileen Piper, CEO, Denver Preschool Program. “The evaluation shows that our commitment to quality education is truly impacting the Denver community and helping students succeed in their preschool year and beyond.”

The evaluation also shows that Denver Preschool Program parents understand the importance of preschool. Parents see preschool as important to a child’s development, cognitive, social and emotional growth, and long-term success in school.

To learn more about DPP's 2011 Evaluation Report, please access any of the following materials:

Press Release (also available in Spanish)

Evaluation Fact Sheet (also available in Spanish)

Full Evaluation Report Part 1 (Parents and Providers) & Part 2 (Child Outcomes)

Click here to view the book finalists and vote for your favorite!

The Denver Preschool Program, in collaboration with Reach out and Read Colorado, The Denver Public Library & Arts and Venues Denver are hosting the 4^th annual Preschool's One Book One Denver. Preschool's One Book One Denver is a city-wide book club for young children, which celebrates and highlights the importance of early literacy. We are asking YOU to help us pick the final book selection for the 2012 event!

Our preschool providers and Denver librarians helped narrow the book choices to three finalists. For a description of each book, please click here to view the voting announcement.

Feast for 10 by Catherine Falwell
Mamma Do You Love Me? by Barbara Joosse
Maybe a Bear Ate It! by Robie Harris

Please visit the voting website and see the books being read in both Spanish and English, and to vote for your favorite! We have Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, 9NEWS Anchor Kyle Dyer, Former Denver Mayor Bill Vidal and other special guest readers.

The winner will be announced on April 18th, which will kick off the city-wide book club and the Week of the Young Child. The chosen book’s author, Mayor Michael Hancock and other special guests will host readings and events throughout the city. Watch for announcements in regards to the events, and all of the city-wide readings that will occur between April 18 and 28.

We can’t wait to see what book Denver chooses as the 2012 selection!

Click aquí para Español

The inaugural Rocky Mountain Early Childhood Conference (RMECC) in April, 2011, was a resounding success. With well over 2,000 attendees participating in some 200 sessions on topics ranging from everything from early childhood pedagogy to early childhood policy, the four convening organizations – the Colorado Association for the Education of Young Children (CAEYC), the Colorado Head Start Association (CHSA), the Denver Preschool Program (DPP), and the Early Childhood Education Association of Colorado (ECEAC) – could not have been happier with how the event turned out.

 
But big successes such as this create big precedents, and in order to ensure that the next Rocky Mountain Early Childhood Conference is at least as successful as the first, we have decided to forgo the 2012 calendar year and instead target early 2013 for the next RMECC event. Specifically, the next Rocky Mountain Early Childhood Conference will take place from February 28th to March 2nd, 2013, at the Colorado Convention Center in downtown Denver. While this seems like quite a ways away, it will be here before we know it, so please mark your calendars, make plans to join us in Denver in early 2013, and be sure to check back with us frequently at our website (ecconference.com) for ongoing conference updates.

Since RMECC will not be taking place in 2012, three of the four partnering organizations will be hosting individual conferences of their own much as they did prior to the creation of the joint conference. CAEYC, CHSA, & ECEAC all will be holding separate conferences sometime during 2012, and your attendance at these events is highly encouraged. Beginning in 2013, however, our four organizations have committed to making RMECC an annual event, so you can anticipate that the Rocky Mountain Early Childhood Conference will be an annual fixture on the spring calendar every year thereafter.
Thank you for your continued support. We look forward to gathering with you in Denver for the second convening of RMECC in 2013. And in the meantime, please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@ecconference.com with any questions, concerns, or suggestions you might have.

Looking for a unique opportunity to work with a small, dynamic nonprofit? Wanting to gain firsthand experience helping to implement an important public policy initiative? Click here for further details on DPP's fall internship opening. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Dear DPP Partners, Friends, Parents, & Providers,

Thank you for your continued support of and interest in the Denver Preschool Program.

This is an exciting time for us. It’s been five years since the Denver Preschool Program began, and this fall we hit a major milestone: We have enrolled more than 20,000 kids in the Denver Preschool Program!

That’s 20,000 kids enrolled in quality-focused preschool in Denver, 20,000 kids better prepared for kindergarten, 20,000 kids more likely to go on to succeed in school and beyond.

We also have some exciting news about the organization. Eileen Piper has been named our new CEO! Piper has been the Acting CEO of the Denver Preschool Program since James Mejia took a leave of absence in December.  Eileen has brought so much to the program since she joined us, and we are looking forward to her continued leadership.

Also this fall, we are excited to take part in discussions about Colorado’s application for the Early Learning Challenge Fund, the federal Race to the Top grant for early childhood education.  The application is due in October, and we feel like Colorado is in a great position to win.

Our newsletters are a great opportunity to let you know how we are doing, but we’d like to hear from you as well.  Please feel free to contact us at dan@dpp.org if you have any questions, or if you would like to share stories about your experience with the Denver Preschool Program. Thank you.

Preschool Matters: Fall 2011 Edition (click here)

Preschool Matters: Fall 2011 Parent Edition (available in both English & Spanish)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Abigail Kesner, SE2
303.892.9100 x20 (office)
917.750.2272 (cell)

September 13, 2011


Denver Preschool Program Names Eileen Piper Chief Executive Officer

(DENVER) The Denver Preschool Program has named Eileen Piper as its next Chief Executive Officer. Piper has been the acting CEO of the Denver Preschool Program since former CEO James Mejia took a leave of absence in December of 2010 to run for mayor. Mejia formally resigned from the CEO position in June.

"I am pleased to congratulate Eileen Piper on her appointment as the new CEO of the Denver Preschool Program as we share a common commitment to ensuring our kids have ample opportunities to live up to their God-given potential," said Denver Mayor Michael Hancock. "It's clear that moving Denver forward and creating a brighter future will require the coordinated efforts of all sectors of the community. With Eileen's leadership, we look forward to building a stronger partnership with the Denver Preschool Program that will help to forge effective pathways for all of Denver's children from cradle to career."

The Denver Preschool Program is a not-for-profit organization that helps Denver families pay for high-quality preschool across the city and offers funding to local preschool programs to improve their quality.

“As an organization that provides access to quality preschool for nearly 6,000 children every year, the Denver Preschool Program could not be in better hands,” says John Plotkin, Chair, Denver Preschool Program Board of Directors. “Eileen has shown tremendous leadership, skill and dedication to early childhood education and we are happy she has agreed to continue in this role.”

Piper previously served as the Denver Preschool Program's Director of Policy and Program Administration and has been with the Denver Preschool Program for nearly a year and a half.

“The Denver Preschool Program has done such great work to date making high-quality preschool more accessible to Denver families,” said Piper. “I’m proud to continue this work and look forward to seeing these kids go on to succeed in school and help make the Denver community a better place.”

“The Denver Preschool Program reached an important milestone this year: We enrolled our 20,000th child into the program in just the fifth year of our existence,” continued Piper. “That’s 20,000 children who are more likely to succeed in school and in life. I look forward to growing that number and watching all their success.”

With bachelor’s and master’s degrees in early childhood education as well as a strong background in business, Piper is well-positioned to serve as the CEO of the Denver Preschool Program. She spent a number of years teaching in preschool classrooms and working in the child care resource and referral arena before transitioning to the business sector, obtaining her MBA from Harvard, and going on to work for the McDonald’s Corporation.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Abigail Kesner, SE2
303.892.9100 x20 (office)
917.750.2272 (cell)

June 29, 2011


DENVER -- Tuesday, James Mejia announced his resignation as Chief Executive Officer of the Denver Preschool Program. Mejia took a leave of absence from the Denver Preschool Program in December, 2010, to run a campaign for Denver mayor. Eileen Piper has been Acting CEO in his absence.

“While we are sorry to see James go, we are grateful to him for helping to make the Denver Preschool Program what it is today. We wish him well,” said John Plotkin, Board Chair, Denver Preschool Program. “The program has been in good hands under Eileen’s leadership.”

“Building on the strong foundation James has created, the Denver Preschool Program has continued to help parents pay for preschool and improve the quality of preschool programs in Denver over the past year,” said Piper. “We intend to continue the important work of preparing Denver kids for kindergarten and beyond.”

The Board is already discussing the appropriate next steps for the organization, and Piper will continue in her role as Acting CEO during that time.


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About Denver Preschool Program -- The Denver Preschool Program is the result of a ballot initiative approved by Denver residents in November 2006. The initiative recognizes the importance of quality early childhood educational opportunities for all City and County of Denver children by setting aside one-twelfth of one percent of sales tax revenues for improvement grants for preschool providers and tuition credits that families may use at the preschool of their choice. It is open and voluntary for all Denver children in the last year of preschool before kindergarten and includes all licensed preschool providers who agree to participate in its quality improvement system. For additional information on the program or to learn how to get involved, visit www.dpp.org.