Pre-K
Committee Update March 21, 2019
A committee comprised of Trustee Lucy Kelly, Elementary
Principal Julie Mable, Trustee Mark Schneider, and Superintendent Jason Thomson
set out to research and analyze the possibility of Delaware Academy Central
School District at Delhi offering a Pre-K program. The committee looked at factors such as
program efficacy, program costs, and impacts on the local community. In the research phase, the committee visited
three Pre-K Programs in our BOCES, one Pre-K program at the YMCA in Oneonta,
and six providers of services for 4-yr. old children in the Delhi
Community. The committee asked questions
of the providers and discussed options available to the Delaware Academy School
District.
Throughout our research and discussion, we kept in
mind that most students who had some form of Pre-K experience were more likely
to adjust well to the social, emotional, physical, and academic demands of a
kindergarten classroom. The committee’s
research led to development of the following primary goal for any Pre-K program
offered by the district:
- Increase participation among the
district’s 4-year old population in a Pre-K program leading to social,
emotional, physical, and academic development and have as close to 100%
participation of 4-year olds as is practical.
In the past two years, 90 out of 115 incoming
Kindergarten students have had some form of Pre-K experience. The committee looked at barriers to families not
participating in the current programs and in order to overcome those barriers a
program would need to be full day and would have to offer transportation.
A full day program with transportation would cost approximately
$250,000. The district would receive no
grants or aid on that $250,000 and therefore, the entire amount would be the
responsibility of the taxpayers. $250,000
is approximately a 2.5 % increase in taxes.
In addition, a school-based Pre-K program would undermine multiple
existing providers of services to the 4-year old population within the
district. For these reasons, the
committee recommends against budgeting for and implementing a Pre-K program
within the school for the 2019-2020 school year.
The committee is dedicated to pursuing the following
ideas:
- Incorporate quarterly meetings with
kindergarten staff and local providers for a free exchange of ideas,
professional development, and an overview of what Kindergarteners are expected to
do when entering Kindergarten
- Investigate whether the district could
provide trainings for interested parents
- Keeping data on students who have had a
Pre-K experience vs. students who have not, up through the 3rd
grade, to discuss and evaluate the longer term effects of the Pre-K experience
on our students
- Continue to research program options
that might come with a smaller price tag
The presentation of the Pre-K research and
information will take place at the March 25th Board of Education
Budget workshop to begin at 6:00 pm in the HS library. Please join us at that time.
For your convenience, a PDF version of this article is available here: Pre-K Committee Update for March 2019