Delta school district launches pre-kindergarten program

A new pre-kindergarten program at Delta R-V Elementary School aims to get children ready to learn, according to school officials.

Delta elementary-school principal Kenyon Wright said last year was his first year at Delta, and he and the superintendent sent out surveys to see where the community and the teachers felt the district should focus.

"The feedback we got said kids weren't fully prepared for kindergarten, and there was no pre-K program in our area, so that was our No. 1 priority," Wright said.

"We've put a lot of time and work into it over the past year," he said, "and it's getting started this year."

Wright said he's excited about the program.

Kylie Sauceda and Jordyn Sanford make bubble faces while in the hallway during the first day of Summer School Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2017 in Delta. This is the first year for Delta's preschool program.Andrew J. Whitaker

"I think it'll be a great help to our community," he said.

Superintendent Mellisa Heath said she feels the new pre-K program will better prepare all students, from kindergarten through grade 12, by introducing children to pre-kindergarten skills.

"Previously, children were in homes or day care when they could be in school, receiving instruction that prepares them," Heath said. "It will be a good start to their school careers."

Heath said before she began as superintendent, the district was in a consortium with Scott City in an attempt to reach preschool children in the Delta district.

Last year, the Delta district did not send any children to the Scott City consortium, Heath said.

Ben Davis holds up four fingers to tell his age to Emily Landewee with Gavin Cook during the first day of Summer School Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2017 in Delta. This is the first year for Delta's preschool program.Andrew J. Whitaker

"And this year, we have 20 incoming kindergartners," she said, meaning those children were in the district but weren't being reached by the Scott City program, despite efforts on social media and by sending flyers home with existing students.

"By bringing it closer to home and offering from our own district, we should be able to help our own students," Heath said.

Wright said the program is geared toward children age 4 and has about 15 students who will join just over 100 students in the rest of the elementary school.

The teacher, Macey Cooper, also will work with the Parents as Teachers program, which will give parents more tools to bring education into homes.

"This will give us a very well-rounded realm and service kids from age birth to 3 in the home," Wright said. "We do that to build relationships with students before they come to school so they know the things they need to know."

Wright said the pre-K program is starting up as part of the summer-school program this week and next. It will run from only from 8 to 11 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday at first, but beginning Aug. 17, the program will be implement a regular school day five days a week.

Wright said the district is funding the program at this time.

"The school board thought this was pertinent, and we saw a high need in our district to get this going," Wright said. "We may look into grants in the future, but this is the way we wanted to go about it -- to go ahead and get it in place this year rather than wait for another year to get in place."

School board president Ken Cook agreed.

"We have been looking at instituting a pre-K program for the last three years or so," Cook said, "so we're very excited to kick it off this year."

Cook said the board saw the need for a pre-K program in Delta.

"We're certain it's going to set the first-graders off on the right foot to be good learners," he said.

Cook credited Wright as the driving force behind the program.

"He's done an excellent job," Cook said.

Wright said the state offers the Community Eligibility Provision, or CEP, which allows districts with a certain identified poverty level to qualify for free breakfast and lunch for all students.

"We elected it last year for our kindergarten through sixth-grade students, and for this year, we were able to find another program through the state called Provision Option 2, which allows us to do the same thing for grades seven through 12," Wright said, referring to an option under the Serving with Success program.

"We're very, very fortunate," Wright added.

Wright said he did a lot of research and worked with people at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to get the documentation in order.

"We do have a number of lower-income families," Cook said. "There's no industry in our district to speak of, so it's been a continuing problem. But this pre-K program is another step in the right direction."

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

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124 E. McKinley St., Delta, Mo.