Preschool Big In Springdale

Makenzi Hoskins, 4, from left, Andy Barbosa-Rodriguez, 5, and Nicole Marcia-Martinez, 4, all prekindergarten students, eat their lunches Wednesday at the Springdale School District’s Early Childhood Center.
Makenzi Hoskins, 4, from left, Andy Barbosa-Rodriguez, 5, and Nicole Marcia-Martinez, 4, all prekindergarten students, eat their lunches Wednesday at the Springdale School District’s Early Childhood Center.

— Kay Dial is glad she went along with her husband’s suggestion to put their son, Gunner, in preschool.

Gunner, 5, loves his class at the Springdale School District’s Early Childhood Center, despite having to wake up for the 7:45 a.m. start time each day, Dial said.

In The News

Diversity Award

Springdale’s Early Childhood Center won the Student Organization/Outstanding School Award last fall from Walmart at the Celebration of Community event in Rogers. That award recognizes “the school or student organization that has shown exemplary commitment to the education of all students in an inclusive environment, continues to embrace diversity in all aspects of the curriculum and serves as a role model for inclusive behavior,” according to Walmart. Other nominees for the award included: Bentonville School District, the Bentonville High School chamber choir, Elkins School District, George Junior High (Springdale), Jones Elementary (Springdale) and Russell D. Jones Elementary (Rogers).

Source: Staff Report

“It has expanded his knowledge a lot,” she said. “I just can’t say enough good things about that school. It’s just really helped him.”

Springdale, the largest school district in Northwest Arkansas, has by far the area’s largest preschool program with 600 students ages 3 to 5.

The Early Childhood Center, at the corner of Thompson Street and Huntsville Avenue, hosts 260 students. The other 340 children attend classes at one of Springdale’s elementary schools.

Demand for Springdale’s program is high. Though the district has more than tripled its preschool enrollment capacity since 2004, it still has a waiting list of about 400 kids at any given time.

Springdale would like to expand the program by at least another 100 children, said Marsha Jones, associate superintendent. That depends largely on support from the state.

“We are hoping the legislators in our state continue to recognize the value of (preschool),” Jones said.

The program is free to parents but available only to families at or below 200 percent of the poverty level. For a family of four, that means a yearly income of $46,000.

During his State of the Union address Feb. 12, President Barack Obama proposed a plan to make “high-quality” preschool available to every child in America.

At A Glance

Pre-Kindergarten

The school districts in Northwest Arkansas that offer preschool and the number of students they enroll.

• Bentonville: 240

• Decatur: 40

• Fayetteville: 120

• Gravette: 60

• Lincoln: 57

• Rogers: 340

• Siloam Springs: 160

• Springdale: 600

• Total: 1,617

Source: Staff Report

“Study after study shows that the sooner a child begins learning, the better he or she does down the road,” Obama said. “But today, fewer than three in 10 4-year-olds are enrolled in a high-quality preschool program. Most middle-class parents can’t afford a few hundred bucks a week for a private preschool.”

Universal preschool might be a tough sell, however, especially to Republicans, some of whom worry about the plan’s cost and effectiveness. The Obama administration has not yet outlined the costs, though Obama said each dollar invested in high-quality preschool saves $7 later through higher graduation rates and lower crime rates.

U.S. Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, expressed concern about Obama’s proposal.

“Before we spend more taxpayer dollars on new programs, we must first review what is and is not working in existing initiatives, such as Head Start,” Kline said in a statement.

Head Start is a child development program for low-income kids from birth to age 5.

At Springdale’s Early Childhood Center, students receive breakfast, lunch and a snack. There’s also time set aside each day for rest and playing outside.

Preschool is “not just babysitting,” said Darlene Fleeman, principal at the center. Students are expected to learn a wide range of social, language and cognitive skills to prepare them for kindergarten.

In one classroom Tuesday, for example, students counted out loud together from one to 20. Then their teacher turned on some music, and they proceeded to wiggle and shimmy to a song about the letter S.

In another classroom, a teacher’s aide asked the students gather around her to list words that start with P.

Teachers emphasize play-based learning. Students are free to participate in one of several games and activities their teacher presents them.

Each classroom is uniquely decorated. Teachers are certified and paid on the same scale as other teachers in the district. The district’s minimum teacher salary is $44,570.

As in other school districts, the teachers are required to undergo 60 hours of professional development each year.

The Arkansas Better Chance program provides $2.6 million for Springdale’s preschool program, which is 60 percent of the program’s cost, Fleeman said. The School District picks up the rest, about $1.7 million. The district’s total annual budget is roughly $160 million.

At the Early Childhood Center, 74 percent of the kids are English language learners. Language learners are assigned a level between one and five based on their skills.

“Lots of our kids make one whole level of growth in a year,” Fleeman said. “That’s accelerated growth.”

Asked what special things the teachers do for English language learners, Fleeman has a simple response: nothing.

“We give them a safe, loving and warm environment, and they learn,” she said.

All instruction is done in English. Some students are bilingual, and they help each other with the language, Fleeman said.

Marta Collier, an associate professor in curriculum and instruction at the University of Arkansas who specializes in early childhood education, has developed a partnership with the center in the past few years. Most of her students go there for their practicums, which they are required to complete as part of their course work.

The practicums allow her students to observe best practices by certified teachers as well as to interact with a diverse group of students and parents, she said.

Collier has high praise for the job Springdale preschool classes are doing. When the students advance to kindergarten, she said, they come prepared with the skills they need.

“Beyond that, the children are interested in learning, they’re excited by learning,” Collier said. “A tremendous foundation has been laid.”

Collier said there are studies showing an early start in education tends to encourage people to be successful in school and to get a job. She firmly believes in Obama’s proposal and hopes the state will put more money into preschool.

“There are so many families that want to participate but limited slots,” she said.

Deniece Honeycutt, assistant director of early care and education projects at the University of Arkansas, said she agrees with the president’s figures.

A Washington-based organization did a study of preschool’s economic benefits to Arkansas in 2006. The study showed a return of $1.58 for every $1 spent on preschool, but that study used a very conservative model, Honeycutt said.

“Most of the research out there shows early education programs actually generate $4 to $11 in benefits for every dollar spent,” she said.

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