♪♪
-Hello, thank you all for coming.
It is a little crowded in here,
so we have got some fun activities planned.
I'm Jennifer Kelty.
I'm the Executive Director of the Children's Center
at Burke Gilman Gardens.
And we would just like to welcome the mayor and
Councilmember Rivera.
And then also, we've got with us Dr. Chappelle from the City's
Department of Education and Early Learning.
And then we've got folks from the City of Seattle's
Childcare Assistance Program
and the Seattle Preschool Program with us as well.
And then of course, all of our awesome staff members
and our favorite pre-K kids.
So hey, everybody.
And then we also have a parent speaker with us today, Gina,
who is also one of our board members.
I just wanted to take a minute to thank everybody to come out.
We're very excited to be partnering
with the Seattle Preschool Program this year
and kicking off the start of enrollment for 2025.
We are very grateful to the City of Seattle,
thanks in part due to a grant
that we received from the City's Childcare Facilities Fund
and other public funding sources.
We have done an expansion this year
that allowed us to add a new toddler classroom
with some very desperately needed slots.
And then we were able to increase
our preschool capacity to be able to partner
with the Seattle Preschool Program this year.
So this partnership is going to assist us
in providing more affordable and high quality childcare
and early learning options for all families in our community
and will also remove barriers for a lot of our families
in this area to access our program and other services.
So once again, we're just very grateful to the mayor
and the City for investing in the Seattle Preschool Program
and the Childcare Assistance Program.
As everybody knows,
investing in early learning programs
now supports the future well-being
and success of all of our children's families
and our communities.
So thank you all for being here,
and I will go ahead and turn it over to the mayor.
There you go. -Okay. Thank you.
I think we're going to do some reading first,
so I'm going to put the microphone down
and have some fun.
My name is Bruce, and first,
before I start, I'm going to sort of use my special powers.
My special powers to tell how old you are.
Right now, there are a lot of four-year-olds
right here, right?
Raise your hand if you're four. See that?
And there's some three-year-olds here, too.
Yeah, see?
And guess what?
There's someone born in the month of March and April, too.
Right? Who's born in March and April?
See that? See that? Okay.
Now I've got to get serious now, okay?
-And I'm five.
-You're five.
You know, I didn't want to say that,
but I was thinking you were five, too.
-And my brother is five, too.
-Oh, you've got a five-year-old brother?
That's great.
-And he's five. -You're five, too?
Oh, you were sitting back there thinking, "I'm five," too, huh?
Okay. -Me, I'm four.
-You're four. Okay. Cuatro. -Cuatro.
-Cuatro. All right. Okay.
Should we put our serious faces on
or should we put our happy faces on?
-Happy faces. -Okay, we'll be happy.
Okay, here we go.
"We wait for the moon. We watch for the moon.
We watch for the Ramadan moon.
This book is Under the Ramadan Moon.
We fast by day under the moon.
Under the moon, under the Ramadan moon."
You want me to make it scary? -No.
-We don't like scary stories, huh?
-I do. -You don't like scary stories?
-Me, too. -I want a scary story.
-No, we're not going to make it scary.
We're going to make it happy. This is a happy story.
-Scary.
I can make it scary just by, watch this.
Watch when I do this.
"We eat at night."
See, that's what I have to do to make it scary.
Okay, I'm not going to make it scary.
-Again.
-No, no, you're like my grandchildren.
"We eat at night under the moon.
Under the moon, under the Ramadan moon.
We speak kind words and stop bad habits."
Some of those grown-ups over there,
they have bad habits and they have to stop them.
That's what you do. -My brother has bad habits.
-Your brother has bad habits?
Let's not tell on your brother, though.
We won't tell on him today.
"We speak kind words and stop bad habits under the moon."
And a councilmember is going to read this part.
She's going to read this part.
I don't know if she can sit down like me.
-I watch Home Alone. -You watched Home Alone?
-Yeah.
-Yeah, it's a funny movie, isn't it?
-He does traps.
-Oh, he does traps, you're right.
All right.
"We give to the poor and read Quran under the moon."
What else do we do under the moon?
"We hang bright lights
and bake sweet treats under the Ramadan moon.
We visit friends under the moon.
Under the moon, under the Ramadan moon."
Who likes visiting with friends?
Yeah, I love visiting with friends.
And you know what else I love?
I'm happy to be visiting with you today.
"We crack nuts and drink hot tea under the Ramadan moon.
We tell stories and we laugh and play under the Ramadan moon."
I think you tell stories and laugh
and play here too, don't you?
"Then together we pray under the moon, under the moon,
under the Ramadan moon.
We live our faith until next year under the moon,
under the moon, under the Ramadan moon."
That's the end of the story.
Did you like that story? Yeah? Great.
-That was nice.
Let's give the councilmember a hand.
-Let's give the mayor a hand. -I can't hear you.
You hear how loud my hands --
Okay.
[ Laughter ]
So for the kids, my name is Mayor Bruce Harrell,
and I'm very excited.
Sorry to be a little silly,
but I'm excited to announce the expansion
of our Seattle Preschool Program.
And what a great place to start it here at the Child Center.
It's very special here.
The Children's Center has been around I think now
for over 25, 27 years or so.
So that means that there are 20-year-olds here
that have had the benefits of this great work.
And Jennifer, I looked at your background before.
I see you have spent a lifetime, the last 30 years or so.
And you started as a young mom realizing the importance
of love and faith and education in young minds.
So thank you for doing this work.
And I know you have many degrees and certifications
and a public administration background.
And you could be doing many things,
but you're really doing some real special work.
So we're honored to be here at your facility.
And I've heard about
the Children's Center for a long time.
So we chose here very intentionally.
I want to ground us in a quote, if I may.
"We may not be able to prepare the future for our children,
but we can at least prepare our children for the future."
And I want you to think about that.
That was said by a president coming out of
the Great Depression, FDR.
And I'm not suggesting we are in a depression or recession.
I could suggest that,
the way things seem to be going sometimes.
But certainly we are in a time of incredible change.
And the need for these toddlers to be well-equipped
to deal with the future
that they are embracing has never been higher.
So when we announced the expansion
of the Seattle preschool program,
we talked about the investment in you all.
We are investing in you all
because you're so critically important.
Education, as the adults know,
is one of the most powerful tools
to build a stronger and more equitable Seattle.
We realize, and Jennifer,
I think you realized this many decades ago,
that all kids don't start off equally.
And here in Seattle, we are committed to equity.
We don't shy away from that.
Equity means we want to tap into the gifts of everyone,
no matter where they are in life,
realizing they come from different places
and with different backgrounds.
High-quality preschool is proven to set students
up for long-term success. And this stuff is working.
So with our new expansion,
we're talking about 169 new seats, nine new classrooms,
the capacity to serve more than 2,500 students citywide,
increasing our commitment to those sometimes very vulnerable.
And our investments in early childhood education
is good policy and it's working.
The data would suggest that.
Just last year,
race-based opportunity gaps in kindergarten readiness
among SPP graduates decreased by 10 percent.
This is real progress.
As mayor - did you guys know I was mayor?
Did they tell you I was the mayor of the city?
They told you that? Can you guys vote yet?
Oh, okay. Well, in a few years.
This is one of my highest priorities.
As a Seattle Public School graduate,
I went to a school called T.T. Minor and Meany and Garfield.
These schools set me up for success, I think.
And that's what we're trying to do, set you up for it.
Did anyone have a dream last night, by the way?
Did anyone have a good dream last night?
So you had a good one, too?
-I had a bad one.
-So we're dreaming about a great future for you.
That's what we're doing together.
So our investments in your program,
in this program, is such that their dreams can come true.
So I want to thank the parents and the educators
and the people that work here at this great institution.
And I want to thank the children for participating.
And with that, I'm going to hand it over to our councilmember,
Maritza Rivera,
who is passionate about education and the work
she's doing on the Seattle City Council.
Councilmember. -Thank you, Mayor.
Thank you, Jennifer and the staff.
And thank you, kids, this morning for having me here.
I'm a mom. My kids are teenagers.
They were in preschool a long time ago.
And it just warms my heart to see you all here.
I want to thank Mayor Harrell for being here in the district.
I represent this district that the school is in.
Welcome to the D4. Thanks for coming back.
We were here at the park next door not that long ago,
Mayor, you and I.
Preschool is an essential step on the path
to success for our young children.
It's so much more than play, we know.
The skills and tools that kids get from programs like these
are instrumental for their long-term academic
and also social development.
The city's Seattle Preschool Program investments help
children enter school kindergarten-ready.
How many of you are ready to go to kindergarten soon?
You think you want to go to kindergarten?
Kindergarten is super fun, too.
They will learn how to write their names,
practice reading and sounding out letters.
How many of you are practicing sounding out letters?
I bet you are and learning your ABCs.
Show of hands? All of you are, huh?
You learn to count numbers and sort
and develop key social-emotional skills like problem-solving,
sharing, and interacting with your peers.
I bet you like being with your friends in preschool, huh?
And playing together.
We know that preschool attendance is linked
to higher rates of high school graduation and
college attendance. And in turn,
educational achievement is a key factor in health and longevity.
That's why the Seattle Preschool Program matters.
It is not just about the first few years.
It is about a lifetime of opportunity.
This expansion shows Seattle's commitment to ensuring
that high-quality early education is available
to all families across the district.
I'm happy to be on the North End with you today.
By expanding into neighborhoods with high demand and need,
we're ensuring that more children have access
to the academic opportunities that they deserve.
Since Seattle Preschool Promise launched in 2015,
it has grown from serving 283 children to a program
that will soon serve 2,500 students.
You cannot be here looking at these amazing kids
and not want the best for each and every single one of them.
I'm proud to be with you
here today to celebrate the expansion of high-quality,
award-winning education
for our young learners on this side of town.
Thank you for having me here today.
And I'm passing it over to my friend,
Director Dwane Chappelle,
who's the head of the Department of Education
and Early Learning for Seattle.
-Thank you, Councilmember.
Thank you, Councilmember, and thank you,
Mayor Harrell and the staff.
I'm honored to be here today with our new
amazing Seattle Preschool partner, the Children's Center,
and also alongside of our amazing city leaders
and families that we have sitting here.
But most importantly,
this is all about you amazing young people,
so we're excited for you.
We're also excited about the expansion
of the Seattle Preschool Program.
At our department,
the Department of Education and Early Learning,
we truly believe that high-quality early education is
the foundation for success.
And not only do we believe it,
we see that in our results for the Y Kids testing.
So when children have access
to strong early learning experiences,
they build upon those skills they need to excel not only
academically but also socially.
That's why the Seattle Preschool Program was created.
As Councilmember just mentioned,
we continue to grow it and to make sure
that every child in Seattle,
no matter where they live or how much their family makes,
has access to high-quality preschool services.
This expansion is a significant step
towards meeting the Families, Preschool,
and Promise levy goal of serving 2,500 kids by 2026.
We are set to meet this goal,
and with this additional classroom and seats,
we are reaching more families and just ensuring
that each and every child has a strong start.
And we're not just growing in numbers;
we're also maintaining the high quality
that makes this program a national leader
in early learning. And I'm proud to share,
for the third time -- yes, third time --
the Seattle Preschool Program has been recognized
with a gold medal from City Health.
And what that does is just showing
that our program meets the highest national standards
for quality and impact.
Our Seattle Preschool Program is more
than just an early learning program.
It's about supporting families holistically.
So when I say holistically,
that's either tuition assistance, language support,
or just resources for those students or families
experiencing homelessness or foster care.
This program is designed to meet families
where they are
and to ensure that every child has what they need to thrive
when they go into kindergarten.
So to our families,
I just want to encourage you to explore this opportunity.
If you have a three- or four-year-old,
please apply today. And to our partners today,
thank you again for what you have done.
Our family and childcare providers,
we want to thank you for your commitment
to making early learning impactful.
So together, we're ensuring that every child in Seattle
has a strong start and a bright future.
So I'll pass this over to our amazing parent.
How you doing?
-Thank you all for having me.
My name is Gina Copping.
I am a parent of a pre-K student right now.
I'm also a parent of an alumni of a pre-K student.
And we have a preschooler here at this school.
And I'm also a board member of TCC for a couple years now.
And I am just thrilled to see
that TCC and Seattle Preschool Programs
are partnering up this coming year because I'm actually,
like Mayor Harrell,
I am also a product of our public school system here
in Seattle, Washington.
And I'm thrilled that my children can be
part of the program.
It's really important, I think,
as a parent to have children that are in programs that have,
like Jennifer said,
they've removed barriers
so that all students can be participating in a program
together, that there's a standard, a gold standard,
a national standard that our students are participating in.
And as a parent,
I'm thrilled that this program in particular
will have increased accessibility
for community members.
It's really important to me as a parent
that the programs my children participate in
have a diversity of students, a diversity of thought,
a diversity of background, a diversity of mind.
And so I think partnering with Seattle Preschool Programs
enables both that accessibility for engaging
with our local community
and also increasing accessibility
for additional families.
And that's impressive.
2,500 students around Seattle is an impressive number,
and I'm really proud to be a part of it
and look forward to the changes that are coming.
And I'm really grateful to Jennifer Kelty,
the director here at TCC,
who's been here for over a decade.
But these last three, four years, well,
she's really invested in the enhancement and expansion
of TCC,
really with the driven goal to increase accessibility
and to community members.
She is dedicated wholly to the quality of the programs,
the community around us.
And I tell everyone I know to send their kids to TCC
and I continue to.
So I'm very proud to be a member of this community.
Thank you.
-Thank you.
Thank you, Gina.
So we are going to make sure there are any questions.
But before I do that, I have to tell you,
I already have a favorite one of you as your mayor.
I've already got a favorite.
I'm going to point at my favorite students, okay?
You ready? You ready? My favorite one?
My favorite one is -- no, that would be unfair.
You're all my favorite. All, I go like that.
Thank you for inviting us into this great place
and thank you for having us here.
Okay? Did you see all the cameras here?
-Yeah.
-See? A lot of fun. Thank you for being here.
Thank you for the speakers
for celebrating Councilmember Rivera.
This is indeed some of the best work we can do as a city.
This is some of the best work we can do as a city.
And Jennifer and Gina and others,
thank you for dedicating a life to educating others.
I know that you have a background and went to school
for this kind of stuff.
So thank you.
Are there any questions before we have more fun with the kids?
I'll make sure that we've addressed any questions
and we've answer them. Okay, so they don't do...
Any of you have any questions that you want to ask?
Yes.
[ Girl speaks indistinctly ]
And she's fine now.
And she's happy and she's glad you're here, right?
Okay. Will you tell your mother that the mayor said hello?
Okay.
And will you tell your mother
that you liked the mayor, please?
Okay. -I like it.
-Will you tell your mother that you like the mayor?
Okay, thank you.
That's your homework assignment today, okay?
And you can say you like the Councilmember Rivera, too,
but after you say you liked the mayor.
Thank you for being here, everybody.
Thank you for hosting us.
-We don't have homework. -You don't have homework?
Well, I just gave you a homework assignment.
Yes, tell your mom and dad
you like the councilmember and the mayor.
And you have a Husky jersey on, too.
I saw that.
I was almost going to say you were my favorite, but I didn't.
Because I saw your Husky shirt.
And I saw a champion shirt there.
I'm watching you. The mayor's watching you.
All right, everyone have a great day.
Let's make it a great weekend, too.
All right.
[ Applause ]