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Jul 07, 2023

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PINCKNEY — For the first time this fall, Pinckney Community Schools will offer full-time preschool, and parent response has been overwhelming. Increased enrollment means the district needs $60,000

PINCKNEY — For the first time this fall, Pinckney Community Schools will offer full-time preschool, and parent response has been overwhelming.

Increased enrollment means the district needs $60,000 worth of additional furniture from Lakeshore Learning for two classrooms, even after approving a $125,000 purchase in April for four classrooms with the help of a Child Care Stabilization Grant.

According to the Department of Education, the Child Care Stabilization Grant is a $700 million investment in child care providers across Michigan, helping to stabilize operations and support the health and safety of children and staff.

In January, PCS partnered with the Livingston Educational Service Agency to offer preschool through the Great Start Readiness Program, an income-based, state-funded program.

Partnering with the program meant PCS could offer free, full-day preschool to 10 students, but the district wasn't satisfied.

"Because of all the extra talk that's happening at the state level with preschool, we really wanted to expand our offerings to make it full-time for our families," said Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Basia Kiehler. "We only offered half-time — and 9 a.m.-12 p.m. is ideal for maybe some folks that don't work, but definitely not for our working families."

Full-time students will attend from 8:52 a.m.-3:52 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, rather than the usual two or three half-days a week.

So far, 56 students have enrolled in full-time preschool. Combined with part-time students, total enrollment is 92. Last year, 86 students were enrolled in part-time preschool programs, according to Kiehler.

Kiehler thinks the trend will continue.

"I really do feel that, after this year, we're going to see less and less of the half-days and more and more of the full days," she said. "I think our kindergarten standards are much higher than they've been 10 years ago, 20 years ago.

"By the end of kindergarten, our kids are expected to read. ... I just think parents are going to realize their kids are much more prepared."

The biggest change going full-time? The content students will soak up.

"Our full-time program will offer breakfast, lunch and snack at no charge to the parents," Kiehler said. "The kids do take rest time, obviously, in the full-time program, and our curriculum, it's almost like we're starting a brand-new preschool program. We're really just making the current program better than it already is."

Full-time and part-time students will be taught from the same curriculum, but part-time students won't be exposed to as much content.

"They're not going to do as many units," Kiehler said. "They're still going to be exposed to the basics of what preschool is supposed to be like, which is a lot of play, a lot of imaginative play, letters, number and so forth."

New classrooms mean new furniture. The PCS Board of Education approved a $60,000 purchase Monday, July 31, for the remaining two classrooms. Each one, Kiehler said, costs about $30,000 to outfit, with small tables and chairs, storage shelves for toys, sand and water tables, and a teacher station — plus items like counting beads, puzzles, books, paints, markers and more.

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The board also approved the purchase of over 300 lockers for Navigator Upper Elementary School for $102,500.

"We are just thrilled," Kiehler said of the full-time preschool program. "It's a lot of work, but we are thrilled to be able to provide these opportunities for our kids. I know our teachers are just over the moon. They were part of selecting the furniture and the materials and making the selection around the creative curriculum, so we're all very eager and excited to get the school year started."

— Contact reporter Patricia Alvord at [email protected].