On My Way Pre-K applications for the 2023-2024 school year are now available

Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning hopes to build
on last year’s record-setting enrollment

INDIANAPOLIS– Following a record-setting year of enrollment for On My Way Pre-K, Indiana’s Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning is now accepting applications for the 2023-2024 school year. On My Way Pre-K allows 4-year-olds from lower-income families to receive a free, high-quality, prekindergarten education through Indiana’s only state-sponsored prekindergarten program. Information about the program and the link to apply can be found at OnMyWayPreK.org.

“We enrolled more than 6,200 children in 2022 and expect to enroll even more this year,” said Courtney Penn, director of FSSA’s Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning. “The Purdue University long-term study released last year showed that children who attend On My Way Pre-K are better prepared for school and that the benefits continue well into elementary school. As we enroll an even larger group of children, we know more will be better prepared to succeed throughout their school years.”

For the 2023-2024 school year, a child is eligible for On My Way Pre-K if they:

• will be 4 years old by Aug. 1, 2023
• plan to start kindergarten in the 2024-2025 school year
• live in a household with an income below 127% of the federal poverty level
• have parents or guardians who are working, attending job training or an educational program, looking for employment, or
• meet other requirements specified on this page

An easy-to-use, online application called “Early Ed Connect” serves as the application for both On My Way Pre-K and child care assistance provided via the federal Child Care Development Fund or CCDF. Early Ed Connect makes it easy to attach documents and notifies the user that their submission was successfully submitted. A Spanish version is also available.

Once the family has met eligibility requirements and completed the enrollment process, they may choose from any of the 1,055 approved On My Way Pre-K programs located across Indiana. These programs are operated in homes, centers, schools and religious settings, allowing families to choose the type of setting that works best for them. Families can search approved providers at www.ChildCareFinder.IN.gov.

If a family needs help working through the enrollment process or finding an approved pre-K program, they can go to navigate.onmywayprek.org to connect with a manager in their county.

More than 21,000 Hoosier children have attended pre-K through the On My Way Pre-K program since it began in 2015. The program, which started as a five-county pilot and then expanded to 20 counties in 2017, became a statewide program in 2019. OECOSL also updates the Indiana General Assembly every year on the program. The most recent report can be found here.

The Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning is a division of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration.

Families may call 800-299-1627 for assistance from an early learning referral specialist or for other questions about On My Way Pre-K.

USI to show Till film, host virtual Q&A with Emmy-nominated writer

The University of Southern Indiana Multicultural Center, in partnership with the USI Student Government Association, will host a showing of Till at 5:30 p.m. Monday, March 20 in Forum I, located in the Wright Administration Building. The event is open to the public at no charge, and light refreshments will be provided.

Keith Beauchamp, Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker and writer for Till, who spoke on campus as part of USI’s annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Celebration in January, will participate in a virtual Q&A with audience members directly following the film.

Till follows the true story of Mamie Till-Mobley’s determination to find justice for her 14-year-old son, Emmett Till, who was brutally lynched in 1955 while visiting family in Mississippi. The brutality of his murder and the fact that his killers were acquitted drew attention to the long history of violent persecution of Black Americans in the United States, and Emmett Till posthumously became an icon of the civil rights movement.

“I think it’s important that students take the opportunity to see this film, because as much as people hear or say the name Emmett Till, there are still many that don’t know his story,” says Deonte Turnley, Multicultural Center Program Advisor. “This film is special in the sense that not only does it tell his story, but it tells it from the perspective of his mother who fought so hard to get justice for his lynching.”

For more information, email Turnley or call 812-465-7032.

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Founded in 1965, the University of Southern Indiana enrolls nearly 9,700 dual credit, undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students in more than 130 areas of study. A public higher education institution, located on a beautiful 1,400-acre campus in Evansville, Indiana, USI offers programs through the College of Liberal Arts, Romain College of Business, College of Nursing and Health Professions and the Pott College of Science, Engineering, and Education. The University offers study-abroad opportunities in more than 60 countries and hosts international students from around the globe. USI is a Carnegie Foundation Community Engaged University and offers continuing education and special programs to more than 15,000 participants annually through Outreach and Engagement. USI is online at USI.edu.