Special to IFN
Iredell County Partnership for Young Children (ICPYC) has been awarded additional NC Pre-K slots through North Carolina’s statewide reallocation process. This award will allow ICPYC to serve 36 additional children through the end of the year and support the opening of two new NC Pre-K classrooms at N.B. Mills Elementary School—significantly expanding access to high-quality early learning opportunities for Iredell County families.
ICPYC consistently maintains a waiting list of more than 100 eligible children, reflecting both strong family demand and the community’s need for expanded early childhood education capacity. ICPYC has been a strong proponent of reallocation process, having long advocated for statewide reallocation efforts and additional NC Pre-K slots to address persistent access disparities across the county.
Statewide Reallocation Process
The Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE) has spent the past year developing a dependable and consistent process for reallocating NC Pre-K slots across counties to better align resources with need and program capacity. The primary goals of the 2025–2026 adjustment process were to:
• Reduce the number of counties with slot allocations exceeding the estimated eligible population;
• Reduce slot allocations for counties with a history of unfilled slots; and
• Reallocate unfilled slots to counties with a demonstrated need and the capacity to serve additional children
In October 2025, DCDEE initiated a multi-step review process to identify counties that met both need and capacity criteria. As a result, DCDEE approved 395 additional NC Pre-K slots across 14 counties statewide, with Iredell County among those selected.
Meeting Local Need Through Collaboration
The expansion is made possible through a strong partnership with Iredell-Statesville Schools (ISS), which will host the two new classrooms at N.B. Mills Elementary School. Together, ICPYC and ISS continue to work collaboratively to support school readiness, long-term academic success, and lifelong learning for young children.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to expand NC Pre-K access for Iredell County families and for our continued partnership with Iredell-Statesville Schools,” said Lisa Familo, executive director of ICPYC. “These additional classrooms will help ensure more children enter kindergarten ready to learn, grow, and thrive.”
LEARN MORE
For more information about NC Pre-K or to learn more about eligibility, visit www.iredellsmartstart.org/ncprek.
ABOUT ICPYC
The Iredell County Partnership for Young Children is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to measurably increasing learning and healthy development of children birth to age five in Iredell County. ICPYC provides services focused on raising the quality of early care and education, supporting families, advancing child health, and expanding literacy. For more information, call (704) 878-9980 or visit www.iredellsmartstart.org.