On Saturday, June 17th, PHLpreK graduates and their families gathered at the Please Touch Museum to celebrate the first graduating class of PHLpreK, the City’s new, affordable quality pre-K program.

The ceremony was an opportunity for friends, family, and educators to celebrate some of our youngest students moving up from quality pre-K programs into Kindergarten. Nearly 800 children across the city are now ready for Kindergarten, thanks to PHLpreK.

The children were led into the Carousel House by the Mad Hatter for their special ceremony. Once the ceremony began one of the PHLpreK providers, Chris Gale from Casa Del Carmen, shared how PHLpreK has allowed his program to grow in quality and capacity.

Mayor Kenney was also there to celebrate the graduates.

“When today’s graduates start Kindergarten, they will be better prepared academically, socially, and emotionally to embark on a lifetime of learning because of pre-K,” said Mayor Kenney.  “Every child deserves these advantages. I applaud the parents, caregivers and educators who support our youngest learners, and the PHLpreK programs that are committed to providing quality early education.”

The ceremony ended with all the children waving their caps in celebration of successfully completing pre-K. Afterwards they were treated to a ride on the carousel.

Once the festivities were over, students and families were welcome to spend the rest of the day at the museum.

View more photos from the event on our Facebook page.