Virginia Preschool Initiative Plus

In 2015, Virginia was awarded a federal Preschool Development Grant-Expansion Grant (PDG) and launched the Virginia Preschool Initiative Plus (VPI+) in 11 school divisions across the Commonwealth. The goal of VPI+ was to provide high-quality preschool to children in Virginia by (1) supporting new VPI+ classrooms that meet specific quality standards and (2) enhancing the quality of existing Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) classrooms. This investment was intended to support positive school readiness outcomes for children. These intended benefits for children also translate to benefits for society, as improved educational outcomes for children enable them to grow into adults who make positive contributions to their communities. The potential for these positive outcomes necessitates a cost study that can help state leaders better understand the investment in and benefits of the VPI+ program. This cost study is part of a larger evaluation of VPI+ that also examined the impacts of VPI+ on children's literacy, math, and social-emotional outcomes at kindergarten entry.