EXCERPT FROM: Desert Dispatch
By Eunice Lee
The outlook on the future of pre-kindergarten programs is grim and school districts have realized that they may be forced to cut other programs if they want to save pre-k classes, according to officials in both local school districts.
Around 85 students in Barstow and Silver Valley Unified School Districts attend pre-k programs offered to 3- and 4-year-olds run by San Bernardino County First 5, an early childhood program funded by state grants.
In BUSD, families can enroll students in First 5 at Crestline and Lenwood Elementary Schools. There’s already a high demand for the pre-k program, with 60 students on the waiting list, according to Crestline First 5 teacher Mesepa Panama.
“If we continue those two programs, it would mean that we would have to cut in other areas to support those programs,” said Tony Wardell, BUSD assistant superintendent of business.
Families in SVUSD also flock to the program, according to Newberry Springs Elementary School principal Sandy Schmitt. The First 5 class currently has 30 students but has ballooned to 36, said Schmitt.
“It’s very popular,” she said.
For SVUSD, losing its First 5 program would mean that a number of families would be without pre-k options across the Newberry Springs and Yermo communities. While Newberry Springs Elementary School holds Head Start pre-k programs, only low-income families are eligible for those programs, Schmitt said.
Aaron Haughton, SVUSD assistant superintendent of administration, acknowledged that continuing to offer First 5, which started because Schmitt and other staff applied for the funds, would be hard to do without grants.
“That would be very difficult — we’d have to find another source,” he said. “All sources are shrinking up.”
Kathy Alcantara hopes her 3-year-old grandson, Alex, will be able to attend First 5 at Crestline next year. Her grandson is an only child, she said. “His socialization is mainly with adults,” Alcantara said, noting that First 5 prepares students for school academically and behaviorally. “For some kids its a huge adjustment.”