Scott City School District introduces new preschool program

It’s a typical morning inside Scott City Elementary School’s new preschool classroom.

Pint-size boys and girls buzz around before nap time, some attempting to stretch tiny fitted sheets over colorful cots that dot the floor.

Soon, the lights will be out, and the children gradually will stop fidgeting as they drift off to sleep.

Although the new school year has been in session only a short while, these 3- to 5-year-olds appear to be adjusting well.

“Every day’s been a little better,” their teacher, Carie Boswell, said. “We’re trying to get into routines.”

Boswell gave up her duties as a first-grade teacher to be in charge of Scott City’s new pre-K, which, as far as district administrators are aware, is the first to be offered in the school system.

Right now, 17 children are enrolled, with three additional spots still available.

Superintendent Brian Lee, who began his position in July 2015, was the primary author of the Missouri Preschool Program grant that enabled the district to launch the program Aug. 11.

He and others worked on the grant during the winter.

“I thought it was very important for those kids to get a year’s head start in our system,” he said, noting many area school districts already have pre-kindergarten programs in place. “I just want us to be on a level playing field.”

Numerous studies have shown children enrolled in pre-K experience better outcomes in school and life.

April Garner, the elementary’s principal, herself relatively new to the district, was there through every step of beginning the preschool program, which just became licensed Aug. 1.

She, too, said she felt strongly about giving area families the opportunity to allow their young children to get used to the expectations they will face in kindergarten and beyond.

“When our kindergartners come in, it can be tough on them when they’ve only been at home,” she said.

To help develop verbal communication skills and pre-reading ability, pre-K students are introduced to music, stories and appropriate social interaction with peers.

“(Preschool is) not necessarily needed for them to learn their ABCs and their numbers, but it’s there to give them those language and literacy experiences,” she said.

Because attendance is voluntary, each family pays tuition based on income, Lee said.

The highest tier is $13 per student per day, while families with reduced lunches pay $9 a day, and those with free lunches pay $7.

“It was a requirement of the grant to charge,” Lee said.

Under the grant, $50,000 in startup funding was awarded to the district so a wall could be torn down between two classrooms during the summer to make the preschool space at least 100 square feet.

The rest was used for supplies and outfitting the new room.

Then, for the next five years, the state will give the program up to $80,000 in annual operating money, depending on enrollment.

As time goes on, the annual amount will taper off, so part of the grant proposal called for a plan on how the district would keep the program running after the funding expires, Lee said.

First and foremost, tuition will remain in place.

“There are some costs we’ll have to assume as a district, I anticipate,” Lee said.

If the state’s foundation formula ever is funded fully, Lee said, the pre-K teacher’s salary could be reimbursed to the district; however, no one is counting on that.

There’s plenty of time to explore other potential funding sources before the grant runs its course.

“I’m just really proud of the way our district came together to get (this) done,” Lee said.

ljones@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3652

Pertinent address:

3000 Main St., Scott City, Mo.