PEEPS features in Pima County's Recovery Plan 2023 Report →

Pima County is required to submit annual reports on the progress it has made on approved projects funded with its allocation of $203 Million from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (CSLFRF). The County has just issued their 2023 report, and this post features extracts from that report which highlight the Pima Early Education Program (PEEPS).

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Supervisors Grijalva, Scott and Heinz support Pima County →

Thanks to Supervisors Adelita Grijalva, Rex Scott, and Matt Heinz, Pima County is leading the way in making high quality childhood education accessible and affordable. These members of the Pima County Board of Supervisors deserve recognition for supporting the Pima Early Education Program Scholarships (PEEPS) — an investment in our community's future prosperity. With their majority vote on the County Budget at the June 20 meeting, the leadership of Pima County demonstrated their commitment to our community's most vulnerable through expanding access to early childhood education. High-quality early education has been proven time and again to have a high rate of return on investment. PEEPS is targeted, leverages private and public partnerships, and this year has helped more than 1,400 children start school ready to learn.

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PEEPS Fiscal Year 23 Second Quarter Report →

Year 2 of the program is off to a great start. School districts added an additional 16 free preschool classes and the County raised reimbursement rates to match the cost of quality rates being offered by State programs. At the end of Quarter 2, 1165 children from income eligible families are receiving assistance from PEEPs to attend high quality preschools across Pima County.

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Free Pre-K program enrolling more students, but Pima officials keeping goals modest after pandemic →

The first year of publicly funded free preschool in Pima County was “successful,” with almost 900 children from low-income families enrolled at more than 100 high-quality Pre-K locations, officials said. Pima Early Education Program Scholarships is entering its second year as a pilot program but is set to receive $30 million from remaining COVID relief funds through 2024.

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Message from Penelope Jacks re: PEEPS Annual Report

Dear friends and supporters of The Preschool Promise,

Congratulations! Your advocacy, work, and financial support have born great fruit. The Pima County Early Education Program Scholarships (PEEPS) has completed its first year, and what a year it has been!

The Highlights: 846 Pima County children have received scholarships and high­ quality early education opportunities have been expanded in number and location.

The Big Picture: Policy change takes time. We began this journey together in 2015, and now we are celebrating. Collaboration, cooperation, flexibility, progressive elected leadership, and lots of local expertise have brought us far in making Pima County a better place ­­for kids to grow, for families to thrive, and for our whole community to prosper. There is always more we can do, and now we know, with our shared patience, persistence, and optimism, we have the tools and wisdom we need.

Please enjoy the linked annual PEEPS report for lots more detail, inspiring individual stories, and adorable pictures. Take care, stay strong, stay healthy,

Penelope