Philadelphia boosts retention bonuses for Pre-K teachers; Pre-K signup portal to launch in June
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia preschool teachers' signing and retention bonuses will increase, and a new online portal for parents to sign up their children for preschool will launch next month, Mayor Cherelle Parker announced at an event on Saturday.
Parker said the city is kicking an additional $3 million toward signing and retention bonuses for pre-K teachers who agree to remain employed for the 2024-25 school year.
Lead Pre-K teachers can receive up to $2,000 and Pre-K teaching assistants can get up to $1,500 if they stay at their jobs for the upcoming school year, Vanessa Garrett Harley, chief deputy managing director, said in a follow-up statement.
All members of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers are already guaranteed a $1,200 retention bonus to be paid by June 2024 as part of their contract extension.
If a pre-K teacher is getting that $1,200 union contract bonus, the city will pay the difference so the employee reaches the maximum amount for their job category.
In other words, Saturday's announcement means a Pre-K teacher in the PFT will get an additional $800 on top of their initial $1,200 retention bonus to bring them to the $2,000 total like all other Pre-K teachers.
"The City will work with its partners that employ our early childhood teachers and teaching assistants to pay the full amount of the bonus over time," Garrett Harley said. "For those teachers and assistants that are employed by the School District and represented by the PFT, the City will support the School District in discussions with the Union regarding the payment of these bonuses."
"Free Philly Pre-K" online portal to view available preschools
There is already a map available at freephillyprek.org allowing parents to filter the city's preschool options and compare their distance from their home, services officered and numbers of available seats.
The city says on June 3, it will launch a "one-stop location" and application portal for parents to apply to pre-K programs.
The Pre-K program began under Mayor Jim Kenney's administration and receives funding from the Philadelphia Beverage Tax on sugary drinks.
The city says the Free Philly Pre-K portal will be in 12 different languages and include all 370 locations in 43 of the city's 48 ZIP codes.
