Nearly 27,500 Families Accepted Matches in First Two Rounds of Universal Preschool Colorado, Saving Coloradans $164.7 Million

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 20, 2023
Hope Shuler | hope.shuler@state.co.us

Seats are available in every county and families can still apply to participate

DENVER — With the first two rounds of Universal Preschool (UPK) Colorado complete, 27,457 families have accepted their provider matches and their children will attend the state-funded high-quality, voluntary mixed delivery preschool program this fall. Between the first two rounds, 90.7 percent of children were matched to any of their chosen providers and 78.6 percent of families were matched to their first choice. 

“We are excited that over 90 percent of families are matched with a high-quality provider, saving families over $164 million across the state. As universal preschool in Colorado welcomes the first class of students this fall, we are ensuring the youngest Coloradans have a strong start while putting money back into the pockets of hardworking families, and we encourage anyone who has not yet signed up to do so today at UPK.Colorado.Gov,” said Gov. Polis.

“We are so pleased with the number of families that have accepted their provider matches and are well on their way to attending preschool in August. We are equally excited about the fact that we have seats available in every single county within the state so we have the chance to get more families signed up to take advantage of this opportunity,” said Dawn Odean, Universal Preschool Colorado Director. 

There are seats available in every county in the state, and families can still apply to participate. The chart below includes a county-by-county breakdown of availability.

Families that participate in Universal Preschool Colorado save $6,000 per year on average, equating to roughly $164.7 million in savings that families around Colorado will be able to put towards everyday use.

Families that declined their match in the first or second rounds are still able to submit new program choices and repeat the matching process. Coloradans can also work directly with their Local Coordinating Organization, which can help families find a program where there are current openings available.

Families seeking to participate in Universal Preschool Colorado that have not yet applied can continue to sign up and make provider rankings for their child. Two additional rounds of matching are planned for the summer. Enrollment will continue on a rolling basis, so families can log in to UPK.Colorado.Gov to find a provider in their area. There is no deadline to sign up.

Free universal preschool is estimated to save families thousands of dollars every year and will put Colorado’s youngest learners on the path to success. There are 1,930 providers to date that have chosen to participate in this program that will help save families money.
 

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The Colorado Department of Early Childhood ensures the delivery of a comprehensive, community-informed, data-driven, high-quality and equitable early childhood system that supports the care, education and well-being of all Colorado’s young children, their families and early childhood professionals in all settings.