FOUR AREA SCHOOLS GET GRANTS FOR PRESCHOOLS

Four area school districts are among 84 Missouri schools selected to expand their services to include preschool-aged children.

Cape Girardeau, Oak Ridge, Perryville and Sikeston school districts all are slated to receive funding in the first round of the competitive Missouri Preschool Project.

Cape Girardeau schools received a $100,000 grant for operational needs and $9,100 for start-up costs. Sikeston schools received $99,694 in operational funding and $9,973 for start-up costs.

Amounts of the Oak Ridge and Perryville grants were not available Monday.

Ruth Flynn of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education said initial grants were given only to public schools, but future grants will be awarded to public or private organizations. The educational program targets 3- and 4-year-olds and is designed to "give parents more meaningful choice in selecting the child-care and education sites for their children," she said.

"It's not intended to take away from any private programs that already existed," said Flynn. Recipients were asked to do a community needs assessment and base their grants on those results, she said.

The grant funding was included in recently approved state legislation as part of an effort to improve the quality of early childhood education and day-care services for Missouri children. Families participating in the schools will pay fees for their children based on a sliding scale regarding household income.

Gov. Mel Carnahan is lauding the program as the best way to assure access to high-quality early childhood programs. The access is especially important for children from low-income households, he said.

"This is going to create opportunities for new and creative partnerships among public schools, private organizations, community groups and employers," said Carnahan. "Our focus wil be on giving all children access to high-quality preschool education and the opportunity for a good start in life."

Dr. Barbara Kohlfeld, principal at May Greene Elementary School, wrote the Cape Girardeau schools grant. The district plans to implement the preschool program for 3- and 4-year-olds in the fall, she said. No site has been designated for the program.

Kohlfeld said: "We're not going to try to give them pencil and paper and give them something they're not ready for. Our goal is getting kids things to see and hear and smell and touch, and to get them learning at the stage of development they are at."

Kohlfeld said the program will be taught by teachers certified to teach early childhood classes. Although the community has some strong private preschool programs already, having a public school program will be an asset, she said.

"Not to take away from the private preschools, because we have some wonderful ones in our community, but we teach kindergarten, and who better than us to prepare kids for kindergarten when we know what kindergarten is all about?" she said. "It will follow beautifully with the expectations we have because we know what these kids need to have."