SPRINGDALE— More children will go to preschool in the Springdale School District this year because of an increase in grant money to the program, school officials said.
The district added 240 spots, up from 600, said Darleen Fleeman, principal of the Early Childhood Center. It received a total increase of $1.16 million. The preschool program will cost about $4.58 million to operate during the upcoming school year.
By The Numbers
Preschool Enrollment 2013-14 School Year
• 840 — Springdale, increase of 240 students from 2012-13 school year.
• 340 — Rogers, no increase from 2012-13 school year.
• About 279 — Bentonville, no increase from 2012-13 school year.
• 120 — Fayetteville, no increase from 2012-13 school year.
Source: Staff Report
It’s important to increase the number of preschool spots because those who attend preschool are better prepared for kindergarten, said Kathy Morledge, Springdale’s assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, prekindergarten through seventh grade. Children can attend preschool in Springdale for one or two years, depending on their age.
High school graduation rates increase and college remediation rates decrease when children go through preschool, said Laura Kellams, Northwest Arkansas director of Arkansas Advocates For Children And Families. Children are also less likely to commit crimes and more likely to get a head start on learning English if they don’t speak the language.
“It’s one of the best investments we can make in our state’s economic future,” she said.
Preschool classes in Springdale are located at the Early Childhood Center on Thompson Street and at 12 schools throughout the district, Fleeman said. There are 12 new classes this year to accommodate the increase in students. The new classes will be at Shaw, Westwood, Tyson, Sonora and Bayarri elementary schools, and J.O. Kelly Middle School, she said.
The preschool program in Springdale gets most of its money through grants from the Arkansas Better Chance Program, which is part of the Arkansas Department of Human Services, Fleeman said. It receives more than $3 million in grants from the program each year, and the district must match 40 percent of this money, or about $1.2 million.
The grant money from the state will pay for 31 1/2 classes this year, Fleeman said. The program requires children in these classrooms to be in families who earn twice the poverty rate, or less.
The preschool program also received a new, $845,535 grant from the Child Care Development Fund through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Fleeman said. This money will pay for 9 1/2 classes this year. Children in these classrooms must be in families who earn 85 percent above the poverty level, or less.
All preschool classrooms operate at the same standards despite the difference in poverty rate among its students, Fleeman said. Between 2007 and 2011, 21.3 percent of people in Springdale were below the poverty level, according to the U.S. Census website.
Springdale’s preschool program also has a grant from the 21st Century Community Learning Center, a program of the U.S. Department of Education, Fleeman said. The grant provides $500,000 each year for five years and helps pay for one class in the program. The preschool is currently going into its fourth year of the grant, she said.
There might still be children who can’t get into a preschool class despite the expansion. The program had a waiting list of about 600 children last year, Morledge said. She thinks the number will decrease to about 400 this year. District officials are looking for ways to expand the program , she said.
Registration for preschool starts around April 1, Morledge said. Children are placed in the program on a first-come, first-served basis. Children can stay on the waiting list in case a spot becomes available and can register again the following year.
“We just wish we had enough slots for every kid who needs or wants pre-K,” she said.
Children recently cut from the Washington County Head Start program, a federally funded preschool program, were referred to public preschools in Northwest Arkansas, said Brenda Zedlitz, program director. The expansion of the Springdale preschool program will help because some of the students cut from Head Start could end up there.
“It’s not going to fix the problem, but it’s definitely going to help the situation,” she said.
Head Start will begin the 2013-14 school year with 267 students, 66 less than last year, Zedlitz said. Cuts in federal spending lowered the program’s budget by $150,000 at the end of last school year.
The Springdale preschool program has had no major increases in enrollment in three to four years, Fleeman said. This was the first year the district could receive money from the new grant, which allowed them to enroll more students.
Preschool programs in Fayetteville, Rogers and Bentonville will not increase in size this year, according to officials in those districts. Rogers’ program won’t expand because of a lack of available money. A lack of space will prevent Fayetteville’s from increasing in size.
The Bentonville School District has two preschool programs, according to district officials. The preschool program at the Childcare Enrichment Center will no longer be tuition based, as it has been in the past, but will be free because the program received a grant from the Child Care Development Fund. The preschool program at Tennie Russell Primary School will not expand because of lack of space.