Providing high quality early childhood education for all Nevada's children.
We promote social emotional and academic development by building capacity for equitable high quality pre-k services for Nevada's children and families.
The NR! State Pre-K (NR!PK) program has been serving young children for over 22 years while maintaining 7 out of 10 national benchmarks of quality. The program currently serves approximately 6% of 4-year-olds (must turn 4 on or before August 1st) across the state in a mixed-delivery system of subgrantees that includes school districts and community-based organizations.
To learn more about the history of state prek funding in Nevada click here.
To read current Nevada legislation regarding NR!PK click here.
Recipients of Nevada Ready! State Pre-K (NR!PK) funds are required to implement programs in accordance with the required program elements as outlined in NRS 387.652-658:
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Teacher Qualifications | Each Early Childhood Education (ECE)/Pre-K teacher responsible for providing direct instruction to early childhood students must fulfill the qualifications identified below. NR!PK lead teachers must be paid a salary comparable to school district
instructional staff. District: Bachelors' degree in ECE/ECSE OR Bachelor's degree in another field and working toward permanent license in a state approved ARL Early Childhood or Early Childhood Developmentally Delayed program; OR Bachelor's degree in another field with 35 or more ECE college credits OR Bachelor's degree in another field and enrolled in TEACH Early Childhood; OR NDE and TEACH Early Childhood approved special exception Community-based Program/Child Care Center: 5.2 on Nevada Registry Career ladder or higher |
| Eligibility | Children enrolled in the program must be 4-years-old by August 1 and families determined to be income eligible below 200% of poverty level OR Meet ECILP extended eligibility guidelines. |
| Intensity | All programs must provide a minimum of 25 hours per week of pre-K class time and follow the attendance policy of the local school board. |
| Curriculum | Programs must utilize the Nevada Pre-Kindergarten Standards, revised and adopted by the Nevada State Board of Education. Programs must implement developmentally appropriate, research-based curriculum that is aligned to Nevada Pre-Kindergarten Standards. Standards. |
| Class Size/Ratio | Class sizes and child/staff ratios must not exceed the following: Class size/ratio will be no more than 1:10 or 2:20. The referenced 2 adults will be 1) A teacher with a bachelor’s degree, and 2) An appropriately certified teaching assistant. |
| Evaluation | Programs must participate in the annual and longitudinal statewide program evaluation system. This includes using outcome indicators as-identified by NDE and reporting all required data to the Nevada Department of Education. Program quality will also be assessed by a reliable assessor using the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale, Third Edition (ECERS-3). Programs must comply with health and safety standards. |
| Family Engagement | Family engagement is a critical component of high quality services that benefit children and their families. A NDE created family engagement survey will be disseminated annually by each pre-K site. The survey is used to identify family perceptions of their child’s school experience. Nevada Ready! State Pre-K sites will develop a family engagement plan guided by the findings of their survey results. |
| Comprehensive Services | Nevada Ready! State Pre-K sites will demonstrate coordination with existing community service providers to meet the needs of Nevada Ready! State Pre-K students and their families. This may include agencies such as, but not limited to limited to health and dental screenings, wrap-around services, community referrals, etc. |
| Inclusion | The percentage of eligible children with disabilities served is not less than either the percentage of 4-year-old children served statewide through part B, section 619 of IDEA, or the current national average, whichever is greater, and is no more than 49% per classroom. Individualized accommodations and supports ensure access and participation for all children. |
| Equitable Access | Each child will be deemed eligible for the program as determined by the eligibility criteria defined by NDE and tailored by each sub-grantee. Equitable access will be granted to children who are experiencing homelessness or in foster care regardless of their ability to provide income verification. Equitable access should not be denied to children in military or tribal families if families lack initial enrollment documentation other than income verification that may be required (for example address verification or immunization records). |
| County | Sub-grantee | Program Contact Name | Program Contact Email |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clark | Clark CSD | Jennifer Ybarra | ybarrjd@nv.ccsd.net |
| Clark | State Public Charter School Authority | Connie Zeller | czeller@spcsa.nv.gov |
| Clark | United Way Southern Nevada (UWSN) | Julie Houchins | julieah@uwsn.org |
| Carson City | Carson City CSD | Christine Lenox | clenox@carson.k12.nv.us |
| Churchill | Churchill CSD | Mandie Hammer | hammera@churchillcsd.com |
| Elko | Great Basin College | Amber Ogle | amber.ogle@gbcnv.edu |
| Humboldt | HumboldtCSD | DeAnna Owens | dowens@hcsdnv.com |
| Mineral | Mineral CSD | Claire Hayhurst | hayhurst.claire@nvmcsd.org |
| Nye | Nye CSD | Candace Mapp | cmapp@nyeschools.org |
| Pershing | Pershing CSD | Kristin Barranca | kbarranca@pershing.k12.nv.us |
| Washoe | Washoe CSD | Tina Springmeyer | TSpringmeyer@washoeschools.net District Sponsored Charter Schools: Sierra Nevada Academy Charter School (SNACS): Kimberly Regan; kregan@snacs.org Mariposa Academy: Jenny Hunt jhunt@mariposaacademy.net |
| Washoe | Community Services Agency | Leslie Colbrese | lcolbrese@csareno.org |
| Washoe | United Way of Northern of Nevada and the Sierra (UWNNS) | Kelly Stevens | Kelly.stevens@uwnns.org |
| White Pine | White Pine County CSD | Jenny Wilson | jenny.wilson@wpcnvadmin.com |