Baltimore City Public Schools

• Eligibility: Children who are 4 years old by September 1st and are residents of Baltimore City.

• Cost: Pre-K seats in City Schools are free for all families, but seat placements are prioritized based on income

• Placement in your neighborhood school is not guaranteed. If the neighborhood school fills, families will be offered a seat at another school. 

• There are nearly 4,000 City Schools Pre-K seats.

• All City Schools Pre-K programs follow the same programming, teacher training, and curriculum

Head Start

• Eligibility: Children who are 3, 4, or 5 years old at the time of application and are residents of Baltimore City.

• Cost: Head Start is free. Seats are prioritized for children from low-income families, in foster case, or children with disabilities.

• In addition to early education, Head Start provides health, nutrition, and other wraparound services for parents of children who attend.

• There are over 2,000 Head Start Pre-K seats across Baltimore City.

• There are 4 different Head Start providers in Baltimore, each with multiple locations: Baltimore City Head Start, St. Vincent de Paul Head Start, Catholic Charities Head Start, and The Y of Central MD Head Start.

Community Providers

• Licensed childcare providers (both center and home-based) who have received state funding to provide public Pre-K at their sites. 

• Eligibility: Children who are 3 or 4 years old by September 1st and are residents of Baltimore City.

• Cost: Free for 3 and 4 year-olds whose family income is 300% or below of the Federal Poverty Level (about $99,000/year for a family of 4).

• Available on a sliding scale for 4-year-olds whose families make above that. Click here to see if you qualify for free or reduced seats.

• There are nearly 800 seats at Community Provider locations across Baltimore City.

• Before and after care is often available on site.