Philadelphia plans to increase funding for its free pre-K program, a move aimed at helping early childhood education centers stay open and retain qualified teachers amid rising costs and staffing challenges.
City leaders announced plans to increase the amount Philadelphia pays pre-K providers per child to match the state’s reimbursement rate. The increase is expected to take effect in January 2027, though officials did not specify how much additional funding each center would receive.
“The center will soon receive the same per-kid sum as the state’s pre-K program,” Mayor Cherelle Parker said.
The city’s free pre-K program, funded through Philadelphia’s soda tax, currently serves more than 5,000 children at 238 centers across the city.
The additional funding comes as early childhood education providers struggle to offer competitive salaries and benefits to attract and retain qualified educators.
At Children Play House in South Philadelphia, director Katrina Schofield said the challenges go beyond simply finding teachers.
“The pay, the equity, the benefits just doesn’t equate with the high-quality education we’re trying to succeed with here,” Schofield said.
Schofield emphasized that early childhood education centers play a critical role not only in children’s development but also in supporting working families.
“It’s very important. This is how families are able to go to work, are able to go to school and continue their education, are able to feel safe that their children are safe, are being provided with meals, and high-quality care,” Schofield said.
Along with the planned funding increase, city leaders announced a new workforce recruitment and hiring hub designed to help pre-K centers find qualified teachers while reducing hiring costs.
“This hub will help us streamline the process for preschool centers to find qualified teachers and reduce the administrative and financial burden of the clearances, hiring logistics and advertising,” Parker said.
The initiative is intended to ease some of the financial and administrative challenges providers face when recruiting educators.
But Schofield said hiring support alone won’t solve the problem. Centers also need the resources to offer competitive compensation and benefits to keep teachers in their classrooms.
“You do need those economic things to provide them for our teachers, you know,” Schofield said.
While the city plans to use money added to its budget to increase payments to providers, questions remain about how to sustain that investment in the years ahead.
City Council President Kenyatta Johnson acknowledged the need for a long-term funding solution.
“I’m committed to see that long-term we find some sort of funding to be supportive of what we are trying to accomplish here,” Johnson said.
For providers like Children Play House, the additional funding could help address some of the financial pressures of operating an early childhood education center. But ensuring teachers receive competitive pay and benefits remains a key challenge.
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC Philadelphia. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC Philadelphia journalist edited the article for publication.
