School Readiness Council

BECOME A MEMBER

To become a Member of the New Britain School Readiness Council, please contact Chris Badenhop at badenhop@csdnb.org or 860-827-2242

Welcome to New Britain School Readiness

Welcome to New Britain School Readiness

Our preschool Programs benefit not only the individual children, but also their families and their communities. Our Preschool Programs are NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) accredited and strive to provide high quality and age-appropriate education experiences for all children.

Here in New Britain, we offer a wide variety of slot options, which include part-day, school day and full day. We are open year round for most of our programs, and during the school year for our Board of Education programs.

Thank you for visiting and we hope you find everything you are looking for!

Mission and Purpose 

School Readiness is a state-funded initiative administered by the Office of Early Childhood (OEC) that develops a network of school readiness programs to:

  • Provide open access for children to quality programs that promote the health and safety of children and prepare them for formal schooling

  • Provide opportunities for parents to choose among affordable and accredited programs

  • Encourage coordination and cooperation among programs and prevent the duplication of services

  • Recognize the specific service needs and unique resources available to particular municipalities and provide flexibility in the implementation of programs

  • Prevent or minimize the potential for developmental delay in children prior to their reaching the age of five

  • Enhance federally funded school readiness programs

  • Strengthen the family through: (A) Encouragement of parental involvement in a child's development and education; and (B) enhancement of a family's capacity to meet the special needs of the children, including children with disabilities

  • Reduce educational costs by decreasing the need for special education services for school age children and to avoid grade repetition

  • Assure that children with disabilities are integrated into programs available to children who are not disabled 

  • Improve the availability and quality of school readiness programs and their coordination with the services of child care providers

 Available Services

 
 

PreSchool Grant Program

 
 

FEE SCALE

 
 

Curriculum/Assessment

Parent Q&A

  • School Readiness (SR) is a statewide program that offers financial assistance to low-income families for early child care and education so parents can become financially self-sufficient while their young ones succeed at school.

  • Register through any of our New Britain Providers. Be sure you view the types of services each agency offers.

    FIND CHILDCARE

  • The School Readiness program has three specific eligibility requirements:

    - Parents(s) or guardian(s) must be working and/or attending school (college or trade) at least 20 hours a week OR disabled.

    - Gross income must be at or below 150% of the federal poverty level for family size.

    - Families must pay a copayment for child care costs (based on income and family size).

    FEES SCHEDULE

  • Eligibility is determined by both income and family size.

    FEES SCHEDULE

  • Yes, if there are spaces available in a given program, and there is no waitlist.

    If you are asked to go on a waitlist, keep the following requirements in mind:

    - You are required to verify and/or update your contact information, employment and family size, every six (6) months.

    - Once funding becomes available, families are enrolled by priorities and date of application.

  • You can apply for state assistance, using the Care4Kids website. If eligible, your tuition can be decreased, as C4K’s will pay a portion of your monthly tuition.

SRC Monthly Minutes and PowerPoints

When to Start Preschool?

Under Connecticut State Law, children must be age 5 on or before January 1st to attend public school that year, and thus could start Kindergarten as early as 4 years and 9 months old.  As a result, most childcare programs require that the child must turn 3 to attend a Pre-K 3 program.  In some cases, when the child is developmentally ready for a Preschool classroom, they can be between the ages of 2 years and 8 months through 3 years old. So, when can your child start school? This chart shows when they are eligible based on their birth year.

Preschool enrollment begins during the winter-early spring of the start year, depending on the program. See the “Kindergarten Registration” pages for specific registration dates. Most year-round childcare providers accept children at any time, based on availability, but will have more openings at the end of the summer as the 4 year olds in their care leave for kindergarten and the other classes move up.

PARENT VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Council Membership; Parent Leaders/Ambassadors

Contact Chris Badenhop