Groups working together kick off enrollment for pre-K classes

A child's brain goes through the most rapid development before age 5.

 

And children who attend pre-Kindergarten classes enter kindergarten with stronger vocabularies, are more prepared to learn basic math, are 10 to 20 percent more likely to graduate from high school and earn 7 to 20 percent more money as adults.
 

With such information in hand a new initiative has been launched, urging parents of 3- and 4-year-olds to enroll now for the 2014-15 school year that starts in September. 

 

Parents like  Eric and Lisa Hansen, who have had children enrolled in pre-K classes, recommend it. Lisa Hansen says their daughter was enrolled in a pre-K class when she was 4.

 

“The teachers attend superb trainings, the children receive high-quality education and tuition assistance is available for those parents who qualify," says Lisa Hansen. "We now know firsthand the varying abilities kindergarteners have at the beginning of the school year. With the help of programs such as Kalamazoo County Pre-K, children entering kindergarten will not have such a wide gap and will be more on the same level. We’re definitely glad to be a part of this program again this year with our four-year-old son.” 

 

Five local organizations are coming together to urge parents to get their children enrolled. Saying, "Dream Big, Start Small," the organizers are working to make sure every family in the county with young children knows there is high-quality pre-K opportunities available. They hope parents will enroll children early, preferably by June 3, for fall classes, and they hope to enroll up to 2,500 students for fall 2014. 

 

Those working together to get the word out are: Kalamazoo County Ready 4s, Kalamazoo RESA’s Head Start and Great Start Readiness Programs, the Great Start Collaborative, the kindergarten-readiness component of The Learning Network of Greater Kalamazoo and all nine of Kalamazoo County’s school districts.

 

"In the past, the different pre-K programs operated independently and shared information with each other," says says Jacque Eatmon. "It was a very good cooperative effort, but this year we’ve moved beyond networking to real collaboration. We have a shared vision, shared funding, shared enrollment materials -- all in the best interest of children and families.” Eatmon coordinates the Great Start Collaborative and The Learning Network of Greater Kalamazoo’s Kindergarten Readiness Action Network.

 

Kalamazoo County Pre-K now centralizes all information at one website and one phone number: (269) 250-9333.