Universal Pre-K programs

Your 4-year-old child may be eligible to attend one of Durham County’s licensed, high-quality public preschool programs through the following programs:

  • Durham Public Schools

  • The Whitted School (managed by DPS) 

  • Licensed community child care centers

  • Durham Head Start

Who is eligible to apply?

All of these programs work to prepare 4-year-olds for kindergarten.  ALL age-eligible children who live in Durham County are invited to apply.  Depending on the program, children who may be considered “at-risk” academically, financially, medically, etc. will be given priority placement.  Most public Pre-K slots will be free for families.  Some slots have a monthly fee based on Durham PreK's income-based sliding scale

Calendars and schedules

Our program follows the traditional DPS school schedule and our instructional day is 7 hours.

Transportation and before/after-care

Each family is responsible for coordinating their child’s transportation.  Our facility does offer before/after care (with limited availabilty) for a fee.  For assistance with transportation or before/aftercare so your child can attend Pre-K, you can send an email to referral@childcareservices.org or call 1-855-EARLY-ED (1-855-327-5933) to speak with a child care referral counselor who can help you explore local options that may be available to you.