Cape preschool enrollment starts

The Cape Girardeau School District has begun the process of enrolling children in its new preschool program.

School officials said Friday that parents must fill out an application form and the children must be screened to determine if they lag behind in such things as motor and language skills.

Such children will be given first priority for preschool, said Deena Ring, the district's director of special services.

Application forms are available at the district's administrative offices at 301 N. Clark Ave. Families also can telephone the district office to have forms mailed to them, or print out the form on the district's Web site.

Ring said the application form should be posted on the district's Web site, www.cape.k12.mo.us/, by the middle of next week.

Parents can call the district office at 335-1867 for more information.

Applications must be received by 4:30 p.m. July 30 at the district's administrative offices.

Children will be screened Aug. 1 and Aug. 3 at the administration building on Clark Avenue. Parents will be contacted by telephone to schedule an appointment for the screening.

The district will open a pre-kindergarten classroom at Blanchard Elementary School and one at Jefferson Elementary School for 4- and 5-year-olds who will be entering kindergarten in fall 2008.

Each classroom will house up to 15 students in the morning session and the same number in the afternoon session. Children with lagging motor or language skills will be given preference for nine of the 15 slots in each class, Ring said.

In all, she said, the district will enroll a maximum of 60 children for the 2007-2008 school year.

Breakfast will be available for preschool children in the morning sessions. Lunch will be served to preschool children in the afternoon sessions.

While the preschool classes will be housed at just two of the district's five elementary schools, the program is open to all children within the school district.

The district will charge families a sliding fee for preschool. The fee will be $2 a day for children who qualify for free lunch, $4 a day for children eligible for reduced-price lunch, and $8 a day for all other children.

Families will be billed monthly, Ring said.

The fees won't cover the costs, she said.

Fees are expected to generate less than $50,000 of the estimated $168,000 cost for the preschool program in the coming year. The district is paying the rest of the expense, she said.

"We feel like it is a wise investment in the youth of our district," Ring said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123