Dear Editor:
In places like New York City, preschool education is considered important enough to make the investment in every child. In towns like ours, pre-K for three and four year olds is widely available, but the financial responsibility falls on young families. Knowing how important early education is for later success in school, some families make sacrifices to find the money to send their child to a good quality program. However, not all families have the resources.
The time may come when New Jersey schools make universal pre-K available, but that will come too late for the children turning three and four years old now. There is not a broad array of scholarships and financial aid programs available to help the preschool child.
Fortunately, one local non-profit assists local families in affording preschool for their children. Preschool Advantage, based in Morristown, has been helping Morris and Somerset county families for 22 years now and has funded more than 1300 scholarships for pre-school.
This year, Preschool Advantage has significantly expanded its services in Parsippany and is looking for additional applications in the community.
Parents and friends concerned about how to pay for preschool for a child turning three or four by October 1, 2018 (the school cutoff date this year) can submit an application to Preschool Advantage starting in January. The applications can be found on the website by clicking here.
Julia Peterson
Barbara Demarest
