Press Room

There are nearly 150 school districts with NJ’s pre-k. Governor Murphy’s originally proposed FY2021 budget included continued funding for them – and funding for approximately 30 new ones! Although pre-k expansion is one of the Governor’s priority efforts, COVID-19 created historic challenges and necessitated focus on safety and continued learning rather than expansion into new school districts for 2020-2021. Therefore, the Governor made a difficult decision in May 2020 not to provide his proposed funding for pre-k expansion in any new districts. However……

……The Governor and Legislature did provide funding through September 30 for already planned, approved pre-k expansion for NJ’s 3- and 4-year-olds – and their working families! The commitment to NJ’s pre-k is evident: the NJ Legislature applauded – twice – when the topic of pre-k expansion was included in Governor Murphy’s Annual Budget Address back in February 2020.

Although the documents below are being updated for Fall 2020, download them now for background information; learn why preschool matters, read more about the Pre-K Our Way effort and who is involved and scroll down to see archived info and representative press coverage for 2019 and previous years.

For press inquiries, please use the contact information included below.

Expand NJ's Pre-K

From inception, Pre-K Our Way has had a single focus: expansion of New Jersey’s existing high-quality, state-funded, full-day pre-k program. Despite a law passed in 2008, the first funding in nearly a decade occurred in June 2017. Thanks to Governor Murphy and the Legislature, there are now 140+ communities with state-funded, full-day pre-k, BUT, 110+ eligible communities still wait…

Download

News coverage of Governor Murphy’s announcement of new expansion districts on September 3, 2019

About Pre-K Our Way

Learn more about what Pre-K Our Way is, who is involved and how you can join the effort.

Download

Help Bring Pre-K Our Way

In 2008, NJ law provided pre-k to 35 school districts but promised to expand pre-k to more communities. The first funding for that promise occurred nearly a decade later – in mid-2017 for the 2017-2018 school year. Additional funding was included in both budgets of the Murphy Administration. Although 140+ communities now have NJ’s pre-k, there are tens of thousands of 3- and 4-year-olds across hundreds of communities still waiting for access to NJ’s pre-k.

Download

Local Community Choice

New Jersey has one of the best, most successful and high-quality public preschool programs in the country. It’s successful because the communities that have it are allowed to adapt the program to their individual local community needs by incorporating both public and private providers.

Download