Preschool For All (PFA) and Preschool for All Expansion (PFAE)

Administered by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), PFA focuses on providing high-quality educational programs for children considered at risk of academic failure. It also serves families of low to moderate income whose children are not considered to be at risk academically. The long-term goal of PFA is to serve all 3- and 4-year-olds whose families choose to participate.

PFA Expansion programs provide a full day of preschool with more comprehensive services provided to children and their families.

IECAM provides data on the number of sites and proposed capacity for PFA and PFAE programs on the Data Hub for years 2020 and later by state, county, Birth to Five Illinois region, school district, and Chicago community area. 

Data for years 2023 and earlier are available by all geographic regions available on the IECAM database. Data are available for the same geographic regions on the Excel spreadsheet for FY2024 service data.

IECAM provides data on the proposed capacity, or the number of children proposed to be served (at any one time), for areas outside Chicago. For Chicago, the number of children is actual enrollment.

Note that the number of children proposed to be served (at any one time) does not reflect the number of children served because more than one child can occupy a “slot” as children leave and enter a program throughout the school year. Thus, IECAM data are not the same as the official total “number of children served” across the year, which is calculated by ISBE after the close of the school year.

If the total number of children served across the year is required for your purposes, please contact ISBE.

Agencies or organizations that have received grants from the Illinois State Board of Education to provide or subcontract the operation of PFA classrooms in their area.

Grantees may serve single or multicounty areas. Grantee data is available upon request. Contact IECAM.