Carroll officials expand preschool

Carroll district officials are expanding a blended pre-kindergarten/tuition preschool program to a new campus next month.

At the July 11 board meeting, trustees approved the hiring of three teachers and up to five aides to staff three early learning classes at Old Union Elementary School. The program will continue at Carroll Elementary and Rockenbaugh Elementary.

The cost of the teachers will be covered by tuition students while funding for aides comes from federal sources, said Mary Johnson, executive director for special programs.

About half the students pay tuition while half qualify for pre-kindergarten or special services. The program grew from 113 students a year ago to a current total of 158. With expansion to Old Union, administrators expect another 40 to 50 students during the upcoming year.

Federal guidelines help fund pre-kindergarten for students who speak English as a second language, meet low-income qualifications, have an active duty military parent or one who was injured or killed while in the service, are homeless or are part of the foster care system. There is also a preschool program for special education students with some of the time spent in the regular classroom and some time for dedicated services.

State law requires districts with at least 15 qualifying pre-kindergarten 4-year-olds to provide a half-day program. Carroll offers a full-day program. Federal and state funds cover pre-kindergarten and special education students while tuition preschoolers pay $5,200 a year.

Johnson said she expected the blended preschool to continue to grow.

“We have a long waiting list for our tuition program, and we also have students come in our office every week who are eligible for pre-kindergarten,” she said.

Old Union was chosen because of classroom space available. District officials are considering consolidating the program at one site in the future due to elementary enrollment growth, but any change likely will wait until after another bond program, possibly in 2017.

This story was originally published August 2, 2016 at 2:29 PM with the headline "Carroll officials expand preschool."