Preschool isn’t what it used to be, and navigating programs, rules, and eligibility can be a challenge for parents.

In Eastern Oregon, one of the newest players is Preschool Promise, a model for a “publicly-funded, high-quality preschool system” that focuses on making early education programs available to all children living at or below 200 percent of the poverty level. In other words, the program wants to make sure all Oregon preschoolers have a chance to learn in preschool.

To do this, Preschool Promise guarantees free, full-day preschool for children age 3 or 4 on Sept. 1 as the school year starts. To be a part of Preschool Promise, a school must operate a minimum of five hours a day, four days a week. Families qualify based on income; in 2021, a family of four making $53,000 a year or less qualifies.

The state rolled out Preschool Promise about five years ago, as a way to refocus early childhood education, but Preschool Promise only really went statewide with an expansion in late 2020. Because of the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic – on top of the challenge of starting a new program – officials said it’s been difficult to get the word out about what the program is and how it fits into the state’s other education programs.

Looking just at northeast Oregon, it’s easy to see where parents get confused with the various names and titles. For example, the Blue Mountain Early Learning Hub is the umbrella that coordinates services for children, birth to age 8, in Morrow, Umatilla, and Union counties — but parents in those counties apply to Blue Mountain Kids for preschool admission. Both are hosted out of the InterMountain ESD, both work with kindergarten readiness and both promote child and family well-being. The difference is that Blue Mountain Kids is the part of the program focused on preschool, and it’s how parents join the Preschool Promise program.

For parents looking to apply for one of the 15 Preschool Promise providers, the application is available in English and Spanish at www.bluemountainkids.org. Blue Mountain Kids will help families find the best fit for their preschooler.

For anyone else curious about the levels of the umbrella, here’s the breakdown:

• The Oregon Department of Education oversees education across the state. The Early Learning Division focuses on the state’s youngest students, primarily younger than kindergarten.
• The Early Learning Division operates Early Learning Hubs in 16 regions across the state, including the Blue Mountain Early Learning Hub (Morrow, Umatilla, and Union counties) and the Eastern Oregon Community Based Services Hub (Baker, Malheur, and Wallowa counties)
• Early Learning Hubs help coordinate services for early learning and early childhood programs for kids, birth to age 8, in health, safety, and education. These services range from learning picnics with families to training for educators in Conscious Discipline.
• As part of the Blue Mountain Early Learning Hub, Blue Mountain Kids focuses on connecting families with preschool programs that qualify for Preschool Promise, including private, community, and school district preschool providers.
• Parents apply with Blue Mountain Kids (which is the local name for Preschool Promise) and can be enrolled in an appropriate preschool program. In the 2021-22 school year, Blue Mountain Kids includes 15 preschool programs in 11 cities.

For families that do not qualify for Preschool Promise, staff at Blue Mountain Kids can still help parents and guardians connect with other resources, including other district or private preschools or Child Care Resource and Referral. To learn more visit www.bluemountainkids.org.