City pre-K enrollment now open for fall

The second year of the city's free PHLpreK will begin in September, and there are about 780 seats available.

Since the program launched in January, funded by the city's sweetened-beverage tax, 769 students moved up to kindergarten and 13 left for other reasons, Sarah Peterson, a spokeswoman for the city's pre-K program, said. The city has said it will not increase its seats beyond 2,000 while litigation against the tax is pending. The remaining seats are filled by students who started the program at age 3 and have another year left in pre-K.

The city last Wednesday won its second legal victory when a panel of judges in Commonwealth Court upheld the legality of the tax. A lawyer for the American Beverage Association and a coalition of retailers said the group will appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court.

Families interested in enrolling their children in pre-K may call 844-PHL-PREK (844-745-7735) to sign up.

Part of the city's goal is to work with providers whose programs are not currently considered "high quality" under a state rating system known as Keystone Stars to boost their rating.

Since January, 13 providers moved from one- or two-star ratings to three or four stars, Peterson said.