At the January 15, 2020 City Commission meeting, a referral was made to the Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee (FERC) to discuss the funding of an Early Childcare Prekindergarten Pilot Program. At its July 17, 2020 meeting, FERC recommended to fund an Early Childcare Prekindergarten Pilot Program for implementation in the 2021-22 school year, with funding in the amount of $250,000 to be allocated in Fiscal Year 2022. At the July 29, 2020 Commision meeting, via Resolution 2020-31375 a Prekindergarten Pilot Program for the 2021-22 school year was authorized.
The details of the FERC recommendation for the Early Childcare Prekindergarten Pilot Program included the following:
- Eligibility requirements for all Miami Beach child applicants include child must be 4 years old on or before September 1 of enrollment school year to enroll or have a birthday that aligns to public school Prekindergarten enrollment; and,
- Child's parent/legal guardian must be a resident of the City of Miami Beach upon submission of application and throughout the year of program participation; and,
- Early childcare centers must meet Florida Statutes applicable sections to be eligible to offer Prekindergarten as a public school provider, nonpublic school provider or faith-based provider and be licensed as a childcare facility under s.402.305, F.S, family day care home under s.402.313, F.S., or large family childcare facility under s.402.313, F.S.; or be licensed exempt under applicable statutes. All providers must have a Department of Children and Families identification number (DCF); and,
- The requested funding in the amount of $250,000 for Prekindergarten stipend will be distributed to the provider monthly as a reimbursement in an amount not to exceed $2,700 per child for a maximum hourly rate of $6.00 per hour up to 2.5 hours per day for 180 days of service.
As of May 3, 2021, the Office of Organizational Development Performance Initiatives has executed agreements with the below fifteen (15) Prekindergarten providers to partner with the City to expand PreK access to Miami Beach families during the 2021-22 school year:
Gan Katan (Miami Hebrew)
Temple Beth Sholom Innovative School
Rainbow Intergenerational Learning Center (Little Havana Activities)
Yeshiva Elementary, Inc.
Toras Emes Academy
Lehrman Community Day School
MDCPS Miami Beach South Pointe Elementary
MDCPS North Beach Elementary
Landow Yeshiva School (Lubavitch)
Vivi's Child Care
Muss Family Montessori School at Temple Emanu-El (Lev Montessori)
Miami Children's Museum Early Childhood Institute
Kinderland 4 Kidz
Biscayne Park Elementary
Super Y Academy
Additionally, the number of applications was adjusted to 104 total applicants due to two duplicate applications. Of the original 104 applicants, seventeen (17) have opted out or are not participating for various reasons including their preferred school is not a partner provider, their child is not age eligible, or their selected public school does not require a parental fee contribution. The remaining 87 applicants have been cleared to participate with 76 having signed confirmatory letters of participation. The remaining eleven (11) are still pending PreK provider selection due to their child's wait list status at their preferred school or other reasons.
Based on the number of eligible applicants, it is anticipated the City will utilize approximately $234,900 of the original budget allocation of $250,000 during the 2021-22 school year.