District short of space for pre-K expansion
Information meetings for parents slated for Oct. 23, 25
BY SHARON LEFF Staff Writer

The Red Bank school district is looking for physical space as well as certified teachers to accommodate the expansion of its full-day preschool program to include children who are 3 years old.

Last month the district added one class of 15 3-year-olds and one additional class of 4-year-olds who are currently housed at the middle school, in part because there is no available space at the Red Bank Primary School.

Instruction is being provided through a partnership with the Community YMCA, which is supplying the teachers. Prior to the partnership, the Y had been using two classrooms at the middle school for its preschool program.

District Superintendent Laura Morana said Monday that all borough 3- and 4- year-olds are eligible for the preschool program.

She said that under N.J. Department of Education rules, if 40 percent of the children attending public school in the borough qualify for reduced or free lunch, all borough preschool-age children qualify for the program.

The only requirement is the child must by 3 or 4 years old by Oct. 1, 2009.

"Space is certainly an issue," Morana said last week. "We are collaborating with private day care providers in town to identify not just the space but the commitment on the part of the private day care providers to support the implementation of our curriculum that we have in our preschool and kindergarten, [and] also high-quality teachers."

Morana said she has visited multiple day care facilities to locate space for the preschool classes, including the Monmouth Day Care Center and Tower Hill Nursery.

She said there are 105 4-year-olds in preschool classes now and 15 3-year-olds.

In September, a lottery was held to determine which children would qualify for the 15 spots.

Morana said that according to the Department of Education, the district must serve 222 3- and 4-year-olds by the end of the five-year period.

She said districts had to apply for the funding. In the past, Red Bank has offered a full-day program for 4-year-olds, but 3- year-olds were not included.

The need to educate more 3- and 4- year-olds in the preschool program is a result of a New Jersey Department of Education initiative aimed at helping atrisk children.

"This is all part of us addressing groups of students that we feel are most vulnerable," DOE spokesman Richard Vespucci said last week.

Vespucci said schools that don't have enough space can enter into contracts with private day care providers under certain provisions.

"If the school building doesn't have space, the schools can enter into contracts with private preschool providers, but the preschool providers have to agree to … meet quality preschool standards," he said, adding that classes must be staffed with certified teachers.

In an interview in August, Morana said the class sizes would also decrease from about 18 to 15 students, which would allow teachers more time to spend per student.

"Clearly they are saying you have five years to make arrangements to provide services for these children," she said. "So in our case, it's a group of just about 100 and some 3-year-olds we are planning for, because the 4-year-olds are pretty much where they need to be. We'll add one more class."

Morana said previously that children in the preschool program are taught how to interact with others, self-regulation, how to make good decisions, and critical thinking.

She said parents with questions about the preschool program are invited to attend information sessions.

While initially some parents expressed concern about the program being held at a location other than the primary school, she said the curriculum and quality are the same at the offsite location. She said regardless of location, all of the preschool classes use the same report cards and progress reports.

"We don't just turn our kids over to that agency. … It's the same program, just a different site that is hosting the program," she said.

The first information session will be held Thursday, Oct. 23, at the Red Bank Public Library, 84 West Front St., at 6:30 p.m. The second will be held Saturday, Oct. 25, at the Red Bank Primary School, 222 River St., at 9 a.m.

An open house is also scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 4, at the Red Bank Primary School. The open house will take place 9- 9:30 a.m. and again from 10 to 10:30 a.m.

For more information, visit www.rbb.k12.nj.us or call 732-758-1500, ext. 1530.