The Evolving World of Universal Pre-K Design
Pre-School is the foundation of the education system in the United States. In recent years, there has been a shift in the landscape of the early childhood education market. Local and state governments are exploring how to provide a universal pre-K mandate for their residents.
What makes our expertise unique in this market?
Our team of engineers and designers partner with clients to enable schools to achieve their objectives and prepare students for success. By listening to their needs, we respond with our multidisciplinary design expertise, along with our understanding of relevant requirements and processes. We take pride in delivering results that benefit students, faculty, and community, and create lasting impacts.
Universal Pre-K: New Jersey as a Model
Universal pre-K has been a conversation for a long time at the federal level, and other states are also navigating how to offer free pre-K, such as New York (who offers free pre-K through a lottery system for residents of New York City) and North Carolina (who offers free pre-K to certain eligible students).
In contrast, New Jersey’s Governor Murphy recently signed into law a bill that makes pre-K free for every 4- and 5-year-old child in the state, regardless of family’s income and without limiting numbers or which districts it will apply to. The bill also sets a goal for all public schools to offer free all-day Kindergarten by 2030. By raising the bar with this legislation, New Jersey is showing how this can be done, acting as a model for other states as they consider similar steps forward. Since 2018, New Jersey has added 20,000 new free preschool seats in 229 districts, but this legislation is a big step because currently, almost half of the state’s school districts still don’t have public preschool and ten don’t have all-day kindergarten, according to New Jersey Monitor. In a press release, Governor Murphy said, “We know that access to high-quality early education programs is critical for our children and that it can set the tone for the rest of their academic careers. It is in these settings that our children begin to foster literacy skills and engage in social and emotional development, both of which can positively impact their lives.” His assertion has been supported by many studies, which find that pre-K offers a myriad of benefits to children’s development, and long term success, and benefits parents.
The Impact on Daycare Centers
Daycare centers across the state will undoubtedly be very affected, since they currently offer childcare for 4- and 5-year-olds, and their business models have been created with that segment of their enrollment anticipated. In an arrangement that will both benefit daycare centers financially and public schools who may not have the physical space to accommodate more pre-school classrooms, the State of New Jersey is enabling each Board of Education (over 400 statewide) to enter into contracts with local daycare operators to provide the universal pre-K for their school district.
We are now working with our private daycare clients to help them be able to partner with the school systems. With this new legislation, the licensing and design requirements for all new pre-schools now must align with the requirements of the NJ Department of Education. Existing daycare facilities will need to retrofit their spaces to align with the Department of Education’s requirements in order to partner with the public schools.
Our Expertise
“Because we have been aware of this legislation’s potential to be passed for a long time, and we already have experience designing centers to be in line with the department of education’s requirements, we are prepared to help new clients go through this process, says National Market Lead of Early Childhood Education (Architecture) Justin Mihalik, AIA, NCARB, who has experience building pre-schools across the country. “We are versed in the financial model for daycare centers as private and for-profit businesses, and we can design a center around this new financial model. The next years will be a time of big changes that we are prepared for.”
In one project, we created a separate wing just for those board of education classrooms inside of the brand-new Lightbridge Academy we designed in Bayonne, NJ. In another new Lightbridge Academy, located in Cherry Hill, NJ, we ensured that two of the classrooms will comply with the Department of Education’s requirements, as per our client’s goal. In other centers, we have taken existing spaces and transformed them to meet the new requirements. Whether it is for a new building or an existing one, whether it is to retrofit one wing or a whole building, our team meets the needs and goals of each individual client we serve.
For daycare centers that are existing, our services will usually begin with a feasibility study. We can review their existing center, existing licensing, and how many of their classrooms currently comply. For both existing and new centers, we offer pre-design services, preliminary designs, and full design services, and then take clients through every stage of the project, providing multidisciplinary capability.
Not Just Compliance
Beyond understanding how to ensure a pre-school is compliant with state requirements, our team also understands what elements of preschool design make a center one that parents, and now school districts, will want to choose. They consider children’s five senses, how colors and lighting impacts children’s brain development and how they learn. They balance comfort and light with security, which is increasingly of concern for parents. Rooms are designed with spaces where teachers and students can shelter from potential intruders, and with convenient exits in case of fire. They also understand the specific safety concerns for each age group, from infants who are non-mobile to toddlers and older children who can run, grab things, and fall. We select materials that take all of this into account, such as soft floors and avoiding sharp corners on counters which may be head-height for kids. When you hire our team, you are hiring thoughtful partners who will approach your project with care from all angles.
Partner With Us
“By centralizing information on preschool opportunities, we are strengthening the foundation of the early childhood system. A robust mixed-delivery system that includes public schools, childcare centers, and community-based providers is essential to meeting the diverse needs of families,” said Department of Human Services Commissioner Sarah Adelman in this press release. “Human Services is ready to play a role in building a more coordinated, inclusive early childhood system that works for families, providers, and communities across the state.”
Colliers Engineering & Design partners with public schools, daycare centers, and communities as they navigate this new relationship and help determine how to best serve families and students. Want to take advantage of our comprehensive daycare design experience and multi-disciplinary expertise for your community’s pre-K needs? Contact Justin Mihalik via email.