Mayor Jim Kenney was joined by more than 100 pre-K students on Saturday, and their families at Philadelphia’s first pre-K Move-Up Celebration held at the Please Touch Museum.

Those in attendance included School District of Philadelphia Superintendent William Hite, and City Council members who joined Please Touch Museum CEO Patricia Wellenbach, and the City’s Chief Education Officer Otis Hackney.

Students from different pre-K programs from across the city attended the graduation, which celebrated their completion of pre-K and preparedness for Kindergarten this upcoming fall. Students received backpacks, school supplies, books, and complimentary admission to the Please Touch Museum.

“Today’s event is about celebrating pre-K students and the hardworking parents and educators who prepared for them success in school and beyond,” Kenney said in a press release.  “We also wanted to do this event to raise awareness, among all parents, about the importance of quality early childhood education. We have to start celebrating pre-k graduation the way we do high school or college graduation because the research shows the two are very clearly linked.”

The move-up celebration was sponsored by the City, Please Touch Museum, and Holt Logistics. School supplies and books were donated by Cradles to Crayons and Philadelphia READS.

"I am pleased to participate in today’s joyous occasion celebrating school-readiness,”Hite said. “It is clear from scores of research and my own personal experience that children who participate in quality pre-K are better positioned to thrive in the primary grades. I am excited to welcome many of these students into the School District of Philadelphia and look forward to supporting their academic journeys."