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Cambridge officials report early enrollment, high family satisfaction in first year of universal preschool
Summary
City and school officials presented early results from the Cambridge Preschool Program (CPP), saying most priority families received top choices, preliminary matches rose modestly year‑over‑year, and staff outlined quality standards and a plan to evaluate program impacts.
The Cambridge City Council and School Committee held a joint roundtable to review the Cambridge Preschool Program, the city’s newly launched universal preschool initiative, and to discuss early enrollment data and policy questions.
City manager and program leaders said the program is four months into its first year and staff have run a second lottery for year‑two seats. Cheryl Olsen, the office’s executive director for early childhood, said the centralized application and BridgeCare matching algorithm prioritized eligible families and continuity‑of‑care, and that families will be notified of matches this week. ‘‘The algorithm is set up to run the priority families first,’’ Olsen said, adding that continuity and sibling priorities are built into the process.
Why it matters: Cambridge’s CPP is a city‑run mixed‑delivery effort intended to expand access to high‑quality preschool for 4‑year‑olds across public schools, DHSP sites and community providers. Officials framed CPP as a priority for equity and early learning, and reported data intended to show whether the system is delivering choice and quality.
Olsen presented preliminary match figures: last year’s match had 939 eligible applications and 734 matches; this year the program had 966 eligible applications and 839 matches, a modest increase she described as preliminary and likely to rise as affiliate matches (for university‑affiliated programs) and late enrollments complete. She said the distribution of seats across CPS, DHSP and community providers appears largely consistent with year one.
On family outcomes, Olsen noted that more than 90% of priority families received one of their top three ranked programs and 89% received their top choice; a spring satisfaction survey found about 85% of respondents said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the matching process.
Program design and quality: Olsen and Karen Feeney, the Cambridge Public Schools’ executive director for early childhood, described CPP as a mixed‑delivery, family‑choice system with baseline participation requirements. Programs must use a state‑approved, research‑based curriculum, employ qualified educators and emphasize play‑based learning and social‑emotional development. Quality is measured annually with CLASS assessments by contracted, certified observers, Olsen said: ‘‘All of our CPP programs get an annual CLASS assessment,’’ she said.
Next steps and costs: Officials said staff will continue outreach, run surveys and convene parent and provider advisory boards to gather feedback. On costs, staff said payments to community providers for the year are in the neighborhood of $11–12 million; earlier figures including funds already in the system were described as not a net new increase.
What’s next: Staff will run affiliate matches for Harvard and MIT programs, continue evaluation work (with an emphasis on equity), and return to the council and committee with additional data and proposed policy decisions for future program years.
