Preschool Expansion Grants

The first years of life are a critical developmental time in forming the basis for learning and social interaction. Investments in early learning have powerful long-term paybacks. The pandemic heightened the difficulty that many Maine parents and caregivers already faced in struggling to locate pre-kindergarten or child care. Access gaps are especially acute in Maine's rural communities. The Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan committed $10 million dollars to address these access gaps.

The Maine Department of Education has helped schools increase the number of children accessing high-quality pre-kindergarten by offering funds to establish or expand public pre-k programs. Through multiple competitive grant rounds, the department has provided funding to local school administrative units (SAUs) to cover facility renovations, staff recruitment and training, and other start-up costs linked to establishing new public pre-kindergarten programs, expanding to additional classrooms, or transitioning from part-day/part-week to full-day/full-week. Priority has been given to schools that partner with community programs such as Head Start or child care, provide a longer duration of education, and serve socioeconomically disadvantaged students. The department has and will continue to provide technical assistance and professional learning to SAUs for pre-kindergarten expansion.

Four rounds of grant opportunities were offered to SAUs to start or expand pre-k in the 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25, and 2025–26 school years. Grantees for each round can be viewed in the expandable sections below. Each chart indicates the model of each SAU's pre-k program, enrollment (actual and projected), community partners, and funding awarded to date.

For any questions regarding the Pre-K Expansion Grant, please contact Lee Anne Larsen at leeanne.larsen@maine.gov.