Seattle Human Services Department preschool programs are now enrolling 4 year-olds from low to moderate income families.

Seattle Step Ahead and the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) still have free or reduced-cost spaces available for more than 600 children at 21 sites in southeast and southwest Seattle this school year. Three are located in West Seattle. They are:

Community Day School Association at Highland Park Elementary School
1012 SW Trenton St. Seattle, WA 98106
(206) 767-4906

Refugee & Immigrant Family Center
9001 9th Ave. SW Seattle, WA 98106
(206) 767-6896

Southwest Early Learning Bilingual Preschool
5401 Delridge Way SW Seattle, WA 98106
(206) 913-2980

To be eligible, a family must live in Seattle and have a child who will have turned 4 by August 31, 2011. For ECEAP, a family of four earning up to $24,585 per year is eligible, and for Step Ahead, a family of four earning up to just over $67,000 annually is eligible.

Step Ahead is funded by the Seattle Families and Education Levy, and ECEAP is funded by the State of Washington. For more information about these programs — locations, eligibility and applications — call 206-386-1050.

“Our preschools involve parents, and honor a wide diversity of cultures and languages,” Smith said. “We encourage parents who don’t think they can afford preschool to contact us right away.”