Late last spring our early childhood team approached me with a pressure point concern insofar as it related to our preschool and kindergarten program. It seemed that we had a number of families who preferred an additional year of preschool [whom would have been otherwise eligible for kindergarten]. In the past, we had accommodated requests like this by permitting children to participate in the preschool program as five year old[s]. The caveat was that they couldn't take the place of a four year old and that they had to pay tuition. Prior to the school year we currently find ourselves in, we were able to meet this need. Our preschool program wasn't full, so it was a relatively easy decision to allow these tuition paying students fill out the roster.
Yet it was/is a delicate balancing act. Currently our preschool program is limited to 40 seats and we have to hold some of those seats in reserve to accommodate 3 year old students who have IEPs (Individual Educational Plan). The trouble is, on any given year we never really know how many 3 year old students there will be or when they will show up. Once a student turns 3 and has an IEP it becomes the local school district responsibility to serve that student.
Going into this school year, our program was full meaning those 5 year old students couldn't be served, because again they can't take the place of a 4 year old. Because of this several students needed to be turned away. One of the solutions that was posed was the addition of a transitional kindergarten program. We have spent this year exploring that and other options in order to meet the needs of our early childhood program now and in the future.
A transitional kindergarten program is one that is specifically designed for students who have completed preschool, but there is a feeling they might not be quite ready for kindergarten. In the eyes of the Iowa Department of Education, students who participate in transitional kindergarten are viewed no differently than those who are simply retained their kindergarten year.
Knowing that it would be unlikely enough students would otherwise be 'eligible' for a transitional kindergarten, we considered an option that expanded our current early childhood by 20 spots to 60 total. This third section would have operated as a full day program mixed with 4 year old students and 5 year old students. The 4 year old students would be exposed to preschool curriculum, instruction, and assessments and counted and funded as preschool students. The 5 year old students would be exposed to kindergarten curriculum, instruction, and assessment and be funded as kindergarten students. At the same time, both the 4 year old and 5 year old students would be required to have access to an equitable program; in other words, the same as the rest of the preschool sections (half-day), and the kindergarten students (1,080 hours of instruction). Further, those 5 year old[s], since they were in fact considered kindergarten students would need to have access to all the amenities of their other kindergarten peers. If it sounds like a heavy lift for a teacher, it most certainly is! For these reasons, we determined this was not a workable solution for our district.
Our second option was a variation on the theme (if you will). Again, the program would expand by 20 spots for a total of 60 and would be a full day program. The difference this time, however, would be that all of the students (both 4 and 5 year old[s]) would be exposed to the same curriculum, instruction, and assessment. The 4 year old students would be counted and funded as preschool students. The 5 year old students would be counted as preschool students and funded through tuition. While this would not be as heavy a lift as operating two separate programs within the confines of a mixed classroom setting, it does create an issue of equity. Under this model, we would have one section of preschool funded with SWVPP (Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program) operating a full day program; and two sections of preschool funded with SWVPP operating a half day program. Further, it is important to realize that SWVPP funding is half the state cost per pupil because of the fact it is designed to fund a half day program. So, financially it would be very difficult to make a full day program operational on half day funding. Based on these factors, we concluded this too was not a workable solution for the district.
This leads us ultimately to the recommendation that we think is best for our district and for all families: expand the program by 28 spots for a total of 68 and create four half day sections. Under this scenario, we would dedicate one of the sections solely to 3 year old students on IEPs. This would leave 60 (half day) slots for our 4 year old students and 5 year old students. Granted, the 5 year old students would need to pay tuition and still would not be able to take the spot of a 4 year old, but it would relieve a tremendous amount of pressure on the current system. Further, current census projections suggest that, with kindergarten class size averages approaching the upper 50s, 60 spots is in alignment with district need for the next several years. One has to remember that we typically won't have all that many 5 year old[s] in the half day program and not all 4 year old[s] attend preschool.
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