Phoenix Elementary District outlines preschool expansion, new tuition and data showing higher third‑grade outcomes

Phoenix Elementary School District officials on May 4 told the governing board they will expand preschool seats, add a dual‑language preschool and continue a tuition-based model while seeking ways to preserve access for low‑income families.

Dr. Seth Ailshire, filling in for the superintendent, opened the study session by saying the presentation would cover program design, enrollment and longitudinal outcomes. Principal Angela Eddington described Faith North Early Childhood Learning Center as a five‑star Quality First site with 10 classrooms (five general‑education, five self‑contained) and an inclusion model she said produced a roughly 70% inclusion rate in state data. Eddington said Faith North will not accept open enrollment because it is a free in‑district program; by contrast, Emerson, Kenilworth and Lowell operate tuition‑based full‑day programs.

"We are a 5‑star Quality First site," Eddington said. "We're proud of the inclusive classrooms, and our staff is dual certified to support both general and special‑education needs." She said Faith North offers before‑and‑after care through a Y Academy partnership that includes transportation, and that some families can use DES childcare subsidies and Quality First scholarships to reduce or eliminate out‑of‑pocket tuition.

Mary Lou Gonzalez, the district’s language‑acquisition coordinator, said the new dual‑language preschool will aim for a 50/50 language split to feed into the district’s K–2 dual‑language immersion pathway and will use curriculum materials available in Spanish. Gonzalez said the district has hired a veteran certified teacher to run the program and will align preschool milestones to kindergarten expectations.

Director Sims explained the district hosts Head Start classrooms operated by partner agencies (Greater Phoenix Urban League and Booker T. Washington) at several campuses; the city, not the district, sets Head Start geographic eligibility by ZIP code and the district provides space and some nutrition services but does not operate Head Start staffing or case management.

On finances, Director Whittle walked the board through a five‑year chart of preschool costs and revenue. He said the district subsidy peaked near $4.2 million in 2024–25 when the district served about 488 preschool students, then dropped to roughly $2.1 million in 2025–26 as revenue from tuition began to offset some costs. The district settled on a market‑based tuition of $750 per month for full‑day preschool; Whittle and Sims described that figure as competitive and said DES subsidies can cover all or most of the cost for qualifying families while Quality First scholarships can reduce the family share by about $525 per month.

"We did a competitive market analysis and landed on $750 a month as affordable while allowing us to sustain certified teachers in every classroom," Director Sims said.

Board members pressed for details about outreach and enrollment. Sims said the district uses flyers, campus banners and coordination with City of Phoenix housing and economic‑development staff to support Head Start and preschool recruitment. Eddington described a new electronic preschool application (a Google form), an initial Brigance screening for placement, and a Child Find process that moves quickly to evaluation and services when developmental concerns arise.

The board also heard longitudinal student‑outcome data from the district MIS team. Dr. Ailshire said students who attended Phoenix Elementary District preschools performed better on state third‑grade assessments than peers who did not attend district preschool. He reported substantially higher proficiency rates among preschool alumni on both math and reading in recent cohorts.

"The data is clear: students who attend our preschools show markedly different outcomes by third grade," Ailshire said, and he urged continued district investment and advocacy for state funding.

Board members asked for additional disaggregated retention analyses — including retention through eighth grade and comparisons of kindergarten enrollment retention by preschool site — and staff agreed to request that information from MIS.

No policy changes or new contracts were approved at the study session. The board took procedural votes to adopt the meeting agenda at the start of the session and to adjourn at 10:55 a.m. The presentation did not include a board vote to authorize the tuition policy itself; staff said financial decisions and procurements that exceed established thresholds would return for formal board action as needed.

What’s next: staff will continue implementing the enrollment and scholarship processes, finalize Quality First applications and licensure where needed, and provide the board with follow‑up data on retention and further budget projections requested during the session.