At a press conference Thursday in West Hartford, officials said Connecticut’s newly-established Early Childhood Education Endowment has already allowed for the creation of more than 500 preschool slots for children throughout the state.

By Ronni Newton

Gov. Ned Lamont and Office of Early Childhood Commissioner Beth Bye announced Thursday morning that the first round of funding through an endowment established this summer has already expanded preschool opportunities for Connecticut families, and will only continue to expand.

A preschool classroom at Charter Oak International Academy in West Hartford served as the backdrop Thursday morning for the announcement that the Early Childhood Education Endowment, established during the 2025 legislative session and signed by the governor over the summer, has already added more than 500 preschool slots. The endowment was created from $300 million in unappropriated surplus from the FY2025 budget and is expected to grow through investment as well as continued funding through surpluses.

“It’s gonna build over time and it’s not subject to the economy and the budget,” Lamont said. “It is guaranteed right there,” and available right away. It’s an endowment, not an operating fund, he said.

In this first year, 12% of the $300 million endowment – $36 million – is being spent. As the endowment grows it will lead to further expansion in annual funding.

Bye said that in addition to the 500-plus slots already created, at least 1,000 additional child care/preschool spaces will be made available in January 2026. Providers will be able to apply for funding for those slots in late October, she said, with priority for high-needs communities as well as communities where there are limited existing child care opportunities such as in the northwestern and southeastern parts of the state.

“As the fund grows it can serve more children,” Bye said. “We’re predicting 16,000 more children by 2030.”

On a local level, through local governance partners that will serve as a hub, communities will take a holistic look at the child care environment and determine what is needed – family child care, center-based child care, and programs through public as well as private facilities, Bye said. In 2027, “the communities will give OEC a plan and then any program can apply. The funds will be open to any program.”

Georgina Rivera, principal of Charter Oak, noted that thanks to support through the state, West Hartford has nine preschool classrooms – five of those at Charter Oak serving a total of 80 Pre-K students. “Even with these resources, the district maintains a wait list of over 400 families waiting for spots in preschool here in West Hartford,” she said. “The research is clear. Every childhood program that is sustained and is high quality will have long-lasting impacts on all children, preparing them for formal schooling and beyond.”

Some of the West Hartford Pre-K programs are full-day, while others are only half-day programs, Superintendent of Schools Paul Vicinus said. The district hopes to use the funds to expand the existing half-day programs – which will in particular address a gap in care for families of special education students who received full-day services through birth-to-3 but then face difficult challenges with the vastly reduced available hours once their children enter preschool. The endowment will also create other opportunities.

“In addition, there are some construction grant monies that will become available in the out years, and that’s one of the biggest obstacles, not only here in West Hartford but when I talk to superintendents in other districts – the ability to build new classrooms and expand the available spaces for Pre-K … and the endowment supports that,” Vicinus said.

The Early Childhood Education Endowment will be used to support public as well as private preschool as well as care for younger children, and to support equitable wages for child care providers.

Bye said the endowment “creates a pathway for all families in Connecticut to have access to high-quality early childhood [care].”

This fall, the endowment has already funded an additional preschool classroom in West Hartford, as well as classrooms in Bridgeport, Derby, Lisbon, Groton, Manchester, New London, Norwalk, Norwich, Deep River, Essex, Stamford, Stratford, Thomaston, and Watertown, Bye said. “That amounts to 20 classrooms and more than 500 children, just from this funding mechanism. And then we’ll have more than 1,000 children starting in January with the Early Start.”

Early Start CT, a component of the endowment that now incorporates several previously-established programs, will provide early childhood education at no cost to enrolled families earning up to $100,000 per year, and cap costs at 7% of income for families with higher incomes. That component of the program is set to begin in 2027.

West Hartford legislators, Rep. Kate Farrar and Sen. Derek Slap, were staunch advocates for establishment of the endowment.

“Opportunity and affordability. That’s what this past session was about. And now, today, a very tangible result,” Slap said Thursday. “This is about opportunity for children to get a great start on their education, and it’s about affordability for families.”

Farrar echoed those comments, noting that the creation of the endowment is a testament to collaboration between the legislature, governor, and Office of Early Childhood. “This moment, just like the passage of our historic early childhood education endowment, has been a long tie coming. We have heard for decades, quite honestly, how much families are struggling to pay for child care, how much our early child car workforce was undervalued, and really from businesses just how much they rely on child care.”

Midway through Thursday’s press conference, Lamont also made an announcement that caught many by surprise – the news that Bye, who has served as OEC commissioner since his administration began in 2019 – will be retiring from state service. He has selected Deputy Commissioner Elena Trueworthy as Bye’s successor.

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