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Poland School District looks to boost enrollment with expanded preschool program
POLAND
Although the North Elementary School building no longer will be used as an elementary school next year, it won’t be empty.
After elementary moves out of the building, the district’s preschool and after-school programs will move in.
“Having the preschool and after-school programs move out to North, I think, is a gift,” said Mike Masucci, Union Elementary principal and preschool director.
“They’ve been hindered by the competition for space,” he said. “We have two preschool classrooms [at Union], that’s it. ... Moving to North is like a blank canvas.”
The preschool has 56 students, but turns away about 10 each year because of limited space.
School officials’ goal is to use the revamped preschool program to boost enrollment in light of a recent state report that shows the district is losing students at a steep rate. The drop in enrollment is what led the board of education to approve a realignment plan that includes elimination of an elementary school and reorganization throughout the district.
Officials hope that by moving preschool and after-school to a bigger and better space, parents will notice the improvements and enroll their kids in kindergarten here.
“We’re recruiting our own kids,” said Superintendent David Janofa. “The idea is that the parents who are taking their kids into this environment, they’ll see the opportunities we have.”
Although the drop in enrollment is mostly due to lower birth rates, a growing number of parents in recent years have chosen to send their kids to open-enrollment districts or area parochial schools. This year, the district lost more than 50 students to open enrollment in other districts.
Part of the expanded preschool program is a five-day-a-week program for 4- and 5-year-olds that Masucci describes as a “transitional kindergarten” class. That program runs from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and costs $240 per month.
In addition to the new five-day-a-week option, school officials say the new environment will be a plus for the programs.
“Future preschoolers will have access to their own technology lab, gymnasium, library, greenhouse and outdoor gardens. Our preschool program will provide even more to Poland’s youngest students,” Masucci said in a letter to parents.
“There’s so much more to do over there, because here we’re limited by space and we have to work around the elementary school. So our programs can grow over there,” said Linda DeLost, program secretary.
Other programs include: a Monday-Wednesday-Friday program for 4-year-olds, with both half-day and extended-day options, that costs $210 or $125 per month; and a Tuesday-Thursday program for 3-year-olds that runs from 9 a.m. to noon and costs $110 per month.
After-school runs from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m.
Preschool and kindergarten registration will take place Saturday and March 14.