PSEP Pre-Kindergarten Center

Dorchester County, MD

Program Summary

  • Goal: To increase access to quality early learning opportunities for economically-disadvantaged children in Dorchester County, MD. The Pine Street Enrichment Program (PSEP) Pre-K program, under the direction of the Cambridge Empowerment Center (CEC) non-profit agency, will serve up to 20 children (3-5 years of age) in the Cambridge community.
  • Background: Cambridge has a significant population of low-income families, with many struggling to close the academic and socioemotional learning achievement gaps that develop during the early childhood years and continue to widen over time. The CEC has a long and rich history of serving disadvantaged youth in Cambridge, MD, targeting the Pine Street community, with a focus on out-ofschool time (OST). There remains a dearth of opportunity to access high-quality, private and licensed Pre-K programs for lower-income families with children ages 3-5. Historical data suggests that these families lack the resources, space, or ability to attend other private programs, Head Start, or DCPS Pre-K3 or Pre-K4 programming. The CEC is the only OST organization operating in Cambridge with the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) licensure needed to open and operate a daycare program out of the Center. Adding this opportunity, in conjunction with the OST program (both after-school and summer) will increase efficiency usage of the building while filling a much-needed gap in community services.
  • Theory of Change: We believe that if the CEC can acquire the appropriate staffing, recruit an appropriate number of students to participate in the program, and deliver an MSDE-approved Pre-K curriculum at the appropriate level of quality, then the participating students will be more prepared to enter DCPS kindergarten; their respective parents or caregivers will be given the opportunity and peace of mind to offer their children a unique opportunity to attend a licensed, private daycare program that would have otherwise not been possible; and, the program will help reduce the overall gap in pre-K access that currently exists in Dorchester County.
  • Framework: CEC will offer a Pre-K program that will meet MSDE licensing requirements, available for children ages 3-5 years old, with a maximum capacity of 20 students. The program will run in parallel with the DCPS school year calendar. The program will run Monday – Thursday from 9 am – 12 pm and will require 2 licensed staff members and one volunteer during the school day. The program will ensure an MSDE-approved Pre-K3 and Pre-K4 curricula.
Child coloring at a table with markers.
Child sitting with toys on wooden floor.
Group of children in a classroom setting.
Educational program strategy summary for preschoolers.

Measures of Performance

For more information, please see Data Analysis section at the bottom of the page

Data Analysis

  1. Goal: To increase access to quality early learning opportunities for economically-disadvantaged children in Dorchester County, MD. The Pine Street Enrichment Program (PSEP) Pre-K program, under the direction of the Cambridge Empowerment Center (CEC) non-profit agency, will serve up to 20 children (3-5 years of age) in the Cambridge community.
  2. Background: Cambridge has a significant population of low-income families, with many struggling to close the academic and socio-emotional learning achievement gaps that develop during the early childhood years and continue to widen over time. The CEC has a long and rich history of serving disadvantaged youth in Cambridge, MD, targeting the Pine Street community, with a focus on out-of-school time (OST). There remains a dearth of opportunity to access high-quality, private and licensed Pre-K programs for lower-income families with children ages 3-5. Historical data suggests that these families lack the resources, space, or ability to attend other private programs, Head Start, or DCPS Pre-K3 or Pre-K4 programming. The CEC is the only OST organization operating in Cambridge with the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) licensure needed to open and operate a daycare program out of the Center. Adding this opportunity, in conjunction with the OST program (both after-school and summer) will increase efficiency usage of the building while filling a much-needed gap in community services.
  3. Theory of Change: We believe that if the CEC can acquire the appropriate staffing, recruit an appropriate number of students to participate in the program, and deliver an MSDE-approved Pre-K curriculum at the appropriate level of quality, then the participating students will be more prepared to enter DCPS kindergarten; their respective parents or caregivers will be given the opportunity and peace of mind to offer their children a unique opportunity to attend a licensed, private daycare program that would have otherwise not been possible; and, the program will help reduce the overall gap in pre-K access that currently exists in Dorchester County.
  4. Framework: CEC will offer a Pre-K program that will meet MSDE licensing requirements, available for children ages 3-5 years old, with a maximum capacity of 20 students. The program will run in parallel with the DCPS school year calendar. The program will run Monday – Thursday from 9 am – 12 pm and will require 2 licensed staff members and one volunteer during the school day. The program will ensure an MSDE-approved Pre-K3 and Pre-K4 curricula.
  5. Measures of Performance: Assessment data will be derived from internally-developed curricula that aligns with DCPS early childhood educational instruction. Measures of Performance include the following:
    1. Output measures: Number of students participating in the program. The PSEP program ended the school year with 11 students. Our goal for year-1 was 10 students (minimum 50% of the total possible seats), and thus we met our goal, earning a “green” health score. The program began the school year with 4 students, so the increase to 11 was considered substantial. We hope to continue to add more children as the program gains awareness throughout the community. We have found the majority of the students are 3-years-old, which reflects a key age need (and gap) in Dorchester County. The 4-year-old population is fairly well-covered by DCPS public preK, Head Start, and other existing home-based and center-based programs.
    2. Output measures: % of students considered low-income, as measured by free/reduced meal eligibility or other income guidelines. Throughout the school year, the PSEP program maintained 100% low-income students, thus measuring “green.”
    3. Outcome measures: Academic growth data (fall and spring). The PSEP program, during this first learning year, had to develop an academic growth measurement tool. The internal curriculum and assessments were built out of dialogue with the DCPS PreK program and thus is aligned with DCPS. We did note a 60% increase in students assessing “meeting benchmarks” from fall 2024 to spring 2025 (moving from 48% to 77%). Thus, we rated the academic growth marker as a “green.”
    4. Outcome measures: Satisfaction surveys (pre/post) from participating families. Families reported 100% satisfaction rate with the PSEP classroom in year-1, earning a “green” score.
    5. Impact measures: Performance of students, based on fall Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA), that graduate the program and matriculate into DCPS kindergarten to measure effectiveness of the instruction. This will be noted during the fall 2025 kindergarten readiness assessments.