One Year After Launch, Cambridge Preschool Program Reports 84% Satisfaction Rate

Nearly a year after its launch, the Cambridge Preschool Program boasts an 84 percent satisfaction rate among enrolled families — and applications continue to increase.

The program, which began in 2024, allows families to apply to free preschool programs run by CPS, the Department of Human Service Programs, or other non-governmental community organizations. The program guarantees placement to all four-year-old children in Cambridge and some three-year-olds, with priority going towards low-income families.

Cheryl Ohlson, executive director of the Cambridge Office of Early Childhood, reviewed the first year of the CPP at a Jan. 13 joint roundtable of the City Council and School Committee. Ohlson highlighted the family-choice-based system as “one of the cornerstones” of the CPP, allowing families to select from a range of options based on their interests and needs.

“Cambridge is so incredibly fortunate to have such an array of high quality programs to choose from that offer different curriculum, different experiences, different environments,” Ohlson said.

Ohlson presented satisfaction data from the 24-25 school year, reporting that 84 percent of families were satisfied or very satisfied with their match, 10 percent were neutral, and 6 percent were dissatisfied.

Additionally, 89 percent of priority families received their first-choice program, compared to 75 percent of non-priority families.

“It really does reflect a system in which families are able to choose the programs that will best meet their needs,” Ohlson said.

City Councilor Ayesha M. Wilson asked about the feedback from the 6 percent that were dissatisfied. Ohlson responded that most families were not dissatisfied with the actual program, but that they either also wanted an extended day option or found the application process to be “cumbersome.”

Despite recognizing families’ needs for an extended day program, interim superintendent David G. Murphy said state restrictions based on student age prohibited expanding the program to in-district preschools.

“The state did not afford us the choice, this was not a strategic decision or a cost-based decision based on the current structure,” he said.

“The extended day programming previously available for four-year-olds enrolled in a junior kindergarten classroom was not available to children enrolled in the preschool program at CPS,” he added. “We were essentially confined by the state regulatory structure to the school day-length program.”

Councilor Patricia M. Nolan ’80 said she wanted to ensure “pre-K doesn’t become a test prep factory for kindergarten.”

While CPP does not have a unified curriculum across its programs, Ohlson said the preschools emphasize play-based education.

“It is the kind of learning that is even more important as children go on, which is developing their brains — to be thinkers, to be problem solvers,” Ohlson said.

Nolan also voiced concerns about two CPP programs being religiously based, advising that CPS get a legal opinion on the matter.

“I'm curious as to how it is that we ensure that we are not running afoul of any kind of concerns related to having our public dollars used for schools that have religious curricula,” she said.

Ohlson said that while she can “look more into” Nolan’s concerns, the two programs do not exclude students based on religion.

Though some programs have a “religious component,” Ohlson said, “the instruction is not religious-based.”

“They are preschool programs, just like you’d see in any preschool program,” she added.

The School Committee also addressed how the recent closure of the Kennedy-Longfellow Elementary School will impact the CPP.

Karen Feeney, executive director of early childhood for CPS, said the district had already reached out to families who ranked K-Lo preschool classrooms in the CPP match for the 2025-26 academic year. She said the district would prioritize keeping siblings at the same school.

Feeney added that the district is “moving forward with having conversations with families that would be placed at K-Lo so we can help them to make the best choices that are going to meet the needs of their families.”

With matches for the next academic year anticipated soon, CPP applications have increased by more than 105 since the previous year — with even more students expected to join in the coming months.

— Staff writer Ayaan Ahmad can be reached at ayaan.ahmad@thecrimson.com.

— Staff writer Claire A. Michal can be reached at claire.michal@thecrimson.com.