BENTONVILLE -- The School Board approved two grants Monday that increase access to preschool programs for low-income families.
The Endeavor Foundation provided a grant to expand the capacity of Tennie Russell Primary School by 20 students, giving the school room for 260 students. The grant provides $97,200 per year for three years.
Tennie Russell is primarily funded by the Arkansas Better Chance for School Success state grant program. It serves children of families whose incomes fall below 200 percent of the federal poverty level.
The board also accepted a grant from the Care Foundation to provide 40 slots for free preschool at the Building Bridges program at Wildcat Way. That grant provides $194,400 per year for three years. The Care Foundation is the educational arm of the Endeavor Foundation.
That grant means Building Bridges at Wildcat Way, located next to Washington Junior High School, will switch from a tuition-based facility to a needs-based facility, said Deb Kee, Child Enrichment Services director. Current tuition-based families will have to find a new preschool program for their children.
Sixteen children will be affected by the move. Kee said she was working on a list of area child-care facilities that could accommodate those families.
The district does have space for children at its Building Bridges program at Bentonville High School. Priority is given to teen parents at that site, Kee said.
Michael Poore, district superintendent, said the opportunity for the Care Foundation grant came up recently.
"When we saw the opportunity, we jumped at it," Poore said. "We're trying to give preschool opportunities to children who most need it."
Building Bridges at Wildcat Way will need minor renovations to accommodate two classrooms of 20 children. The district has a plan to rearrange space at Tennie Russell to accommodate the additional 20 children there, according to officials.
Wendi Cheatham, board president, said she's heard talk from Arkansas' gubernatorial candidates about the importance of prekindergarten programs.
"I was pleasantly surprised to see this because it's something that's going to be talked about a lot in coming years," Cheatham said.
In other business, the board unanimously approved adding an administrative assistant to the central office to assist with student services.
Dena Ross, director of human resources, said the district's increase in enrollment and an increase in compliance regulations have led to the need for the new position.
"When you combine those two, what happens is we have administrative staff being worked into kind of a tizzy and a frenzy," Ross said.
The person hired for the job will assist families with a variety of things including enrollment of students, affidavits and handbook finalization.
NW News on 07/22/2014