Plenty of pre-K slots still open in Fort Worth school district

Josiah Rodriguez was asleep in his grandmother’s arms as his mother stood in line at Diamond Hill Elementary School to register him for pre-kindergarten.

“He’s growing up. … I will be the one crying when he goes off to pre-kindergarten,” Josiah’s grandmother, Alice Alegria-Bazan, said as they waited last week. “It’s going to be an empty house.”

Josiah, who has been under the care of his grandmother while his mother, Sierra Rodriguez, attends cosmetology school, is among thousands of 3- and 4-year-olds starting pre-kindergarten in the Fort Worth school district in 2015-16.

As of July 23, the district had enrolled more than 4,200 youngsters and still had open slots for 1,200 more.

▪  See Star-Telegram map of open slots based on enrollment data provided by district officials

This year, the district has added 528 pre-K slots by building 24 more classrooms at six elementary schools: Alice Contreras, Woodway, Greenbriar, Springdale, Diamond Hill and Sam Rosen. The construction is being paid for with bonds funds approved by voters in November 2012.

Josiah, 4, told his mother, Sierra Rodriguez, that he would try school. The family hopes to enroll him at M.G. Ellis Elementary School.

“He said it would be a one-day thing,” Sierra Rodriguez said. “He agreed to go to school for one day. We will see how that goes.”

Parents line up

Maria Gomez, with her son, Nathaniel, 3, was one of the first in line at Diamond Hill Elementary School on Thursday.

“I wanted to see if he was eligible for pre-kindergarten,” Gomez said. She was able to get Nathaniel registered because he turns 4 on Aug. 14. Children must be 4 by Sept. 1 to be enrolled in pre-K, school officials said.

Nathaniel said he was excited.

“He calls it ‘big boy school’ because right now he goes to day care,” his mother said.

Cynthia Hornsby, a family service advocate for Child Care Associates in Fort Worth, reminisced about the days when her four children, now 13 to 21, attended pre-K. In the 1990s, the district had a limited number of open spots, Hornsby said.

“They would start roundup at 8 a.m. and I was there by 6 a.m.,” she said. “I was glad when my baby turned 5. That meant I don’t have to do this anymore.”

Hornsby’s organization, which provides Head Start services, was at the roundup to help families with services such as access to transportation, clothing and English as a second language courses for parents.

Parents can register their pre-kindergarteners until the first day of school, which is Aug. 24. For more information, call the Fort Worth school district’s Early Childhood department at 817-814-2450.

This story was originally published July 26, 2015 at 4:11 PM with the headline "Plenty of pre-K slots still open in Fort Worth school district."