“Every kid in our community deserves a chance at a bright future and I’m happy to formally commit ourselves to this work by institutionalizing a dedicated office for children, youth, and families here at City Hall,” Mayor Nichols said. “By prioritizing this work, we are setting a bold direction for our city and I’m eager to see the opportunities this will bring to so many in Tulsa.”

- Mayor Monroe Nichols IV 

Pre-K for All Campaign to Increase Enrollment for Four-Year-Olds

The City of Tulsa will launch its Pre-K for All campaign, a citywide initiative designed to increase enrollment among eligible four-year-olds and strengthen kindergarten readiness across Tulsa.

The campaign is led by the Mayor’s Office of Children, Youth, and Families (MOCYF) and is supported by community partners, school districts, and early childhood advocates across the city. Through the campaign, families can now access PreKTulsa.com, a one-stop website that helps parents enroll their children in their district’s Pre-K program.

“Preparing children for success starts long before the first day of kindergarten,” said Mayor Monroe Nichols. “Every child deserves a good start, but too many families don’t know free, full day Pre-K is available or how to sign up. This campaign cuts through the confusion."

Currently, approximately 68 percent of eligible four-year-olds in Tulsa are enrolled in Pre-K. The City and its partners aim to increase that number to at least 75 percent, with the long-term goal of universal access for all eligible children. Read the full press release

Tulsa Children & Youth Statistics

• Children who thrive academically and socially are three (3) times more likely to succeed in their future endeavors, contributing to Tulsa’s economic growth and resilience
• 3,000 students annually face eviction filings—most acutely impacting our youngest learners and students of color—by aligning resources to support housing and attendance
• There is a network of organizations that use data-driven approaches to identify areas of growth, track progress, and scale interventions that make the greatest impact on children’s academic, mental health, and social outcomes; some of these areas of growth include increasing PreK enrollment from 68% to 75% and doubling the percentage of early grade readers on track to proficiency (up from 27% currently);
• Commitment to youth is bolstered by strong networks of Tulsa area schools, community organizations, faith-based institutions, and early childhood education programs, all of which are integral to fostering whole-child development
• Fostering children's healthy development and family well-being will depend on consistent, efficient and effective coordination of effort between and among the government agencies, non-profit organizations, educational institutions and many others, whose services, programs and delivery systems must collectively address the needs of the whole child and their family

Additional resources for data on Tulsa’s Children and Youth:

• Tulsa Equality Indicators 
• Child Equity Index 

Tulsa Children's Cabinet 
The City is working to establish a Tulsa Children’s Cabinet (the “Cabinet”) within the Mayor’s Office. The Cabinet will foster and coordinate efforts to enhance the level of cooperation and collaboration across City departments, nonprofit agencies, educational institutions, that serve Tulsa’s children, youth and families.

Some of the Cabinet’s responsibilities will include:

• Act in an advisory capacity to the Mayor and the MOCYF to advance the goals of improving the health, well-being and thriving of Tulsa’s children, youth and families in order to achieve 15,000 additional youth on a path to economic mobility
• Address such other topics and initiatives relating to children and youth readiness as prescribed by the mayor or his designee

The Deputy Mayor and Director of the Mayor’s Office of Children, Youth and Families will serve as co-chairs of the Cabinet and all City departments will provide assistance, information, and advice to the Cabinet.