Appreciating Preschool Providers

May 9th is Provider Appreciation Day, a time to recognize and celebrate early care and education teachers and child care providers. The day was started as a small grassroots celebration of local family child care providers by the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) in 1995 and has since grown across the nation. 

Denver Preschool Program (DPP) is proud to work with more than 270 preschool providers throughout Denver, including family child care providers, community-based providers, and Denver Public Schools preschool programs. We work closely with Denver’s Early Childhood Council and other partners to support preschool providers throughout the year. We also offer some tips on how families can show appreciation for their preschool provider.

Support for Preschool Providers

DPP and our partners like Denver’s Early Childhood Council offer ongoing support and appreciation for preschool providers year-round. 

DPP resources for providers: 

• We increase compensation by funding Workforce Stipend Grants to participating community site providers, providing these schools the opportunity to issue stipends to their eligible educators. 
• We provide additional financial support for educators through our Teacher and Director Achievement Awards, issuing checks to eligible educators for completing various professional development activities. 
• We fund thousands of hours of free coaching from our partners at Denver’s Early Childhood Council and Clayton Early Learning to educators across our network, along with more than 100 free professional development training opportunities annually, to support providers with providing high-quality early childhood education services. 
• We provide additional grant funding to participating providers to support them in having needed resources such as classroom learning materials and supplies. 

Learn more about DPP’s resources and support for preschool providers. 

Denver’s Early Childhood Council resources: 

• They have launched a FFN Rising Care Program, which supports Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) caregivers by offering training, peer connections, and hands-on learning experiences. See more information in this FFN Rising Care Program flyer. 
• They have several upcoming events and trainings on their calendar. 
• They are collecting provider stories on the impact of the CCAP freeze, which providers can submit via the link. 
• They announced the dates for next year’s Rocky Mountain Early Childhood Conference (April 16th-17th, 2026) and the theme, EXPLORE.
• They are planning an educator appreciation day for providers and their families coming up in July. Look for more information soon! 

Ways to show appreciation for your child’s preschool provider

• Record a video message – Give your provider a shoutout with a heartfelt video message. Child Care Aware of America put together a video gathering guide to creating a personal 60-second video as part of their #ThankYouChildCare campaign. 
• Gift a handmade card – One meaningful way to show appreciation for your preschool provider is by making a personal, handmade card. Get your little one involved in the creative process while you talk together about all the ways their provider supports, teaches, and cares for them each day. It’s a simple yet powerful way to help your child understand the value of gratitude and recognize the important role providers play in nurturing a love of learning from the very start.

At Denver Preschool Program, we’re proud to support efforts that make quality preschool affordable and accessible for all Denver 4-year-olds. This Provider Appreciation Day, we honor the dedicated educators whose hard work and passion help make early learning possible for so many children and families across our community.