UP4WS is a partnership among the City of West Sacramento, Washington Unified School District, First 5 Yolo, and Yolo County Office of Education. The primary objective is to offer high quality, voluntary preschool, and high quality infant and toddler care to children from birth to five years of age in West Sacramento. Establishing high-quality curriculum standards, elevating preschool teachers' pay to professional wage levels and enticing new educators into the classroom also are essential components of the UP 4 WS plan. As of March 2011, over 620 children were served by UP 4 WS and ITOP, our Infant and Toddler Opportunity Program.

We strive to create an increasing number of high quality free preschool slots each year, and our focus is on the quality of existing preschools. Quality enhancement is made possible by additional funding available for training, workforce development, teacher support and salaries. UP 4 WS teachers must possess, or be on an approved path to obtain, the necessary qualifications to teach within the program.

UP 4 WS is administered by the UP 4 WS Executive Board, which includes a representative of the West Sacramento City Council, a Washington Unified School District Board Member, a First 5 Yolo Commissioner and the Yolo County Superintendent of Schools. The UP4WS Advisory Committee provides the Executive Board with expert opinion and advice on issues related to the planning, implementation and evaluation of the program.

UP 4 WS Outcomes FY 09/10

• Children showed a significant (48-56%) increased achievement in the lowest scoring Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP-r) domain areas based their initial assessment in the fall to their post assessment in the spring.
• Across all domains there is marked increase in children’s readiness for school after attending preschool.
• In general, English-speaking and ELL leave preschool with greater mastery of literacy skills.
• Our ELL children follow the same trajectory for learning as do our English-speaking children, and are far more ready for school in the areas of literacy and numeracy than those without preschool.

Please click on the links to the left or the PDF files below for additional information about UP 4 WS.

UP 4 WS First Annual Report
UP 4 WS Fact Sheet
UP 4 WS FAQ
UP 4 WS Provider Requirements
UP 4 WS Quality Preschool Criteria