State legislators recently passed funding to add more than 6,000 slots in the Colorado Preschool program statewide, including 45 in the Thompson School District’s Integrated Early Childhood program.
“There are people who might not realize their children qualify,” said Theresa Clements, principal of the early childhood program. “Families do not have to qualify based on income.”
Unlike the Head Start program, which the school district also offers, children can qualify for the free Colorado Preschool program even if their families are not living at poverty level.
Qualifying factors for the Colorado Preschool program include:
• Concerns about a child’s development, such as poor articulation or delayed motor development
• Health or behavior concerns
• Children whose families move frequently
• Children being raised by single parents, teen parents or their grandparents
Last year, the local district had 75 children in the Colorado Preschool program, so the additional slots will expand the program by more than 50 percent.
Next year, the district will add two early-childhood sites — at Monroe and Coyote Ridge elementary schools — for a total of eight locations across the district. The other locations include the Berthoud Early Childhood Center at Turner Middle School, the Madison Early Childhood Center at East Fifth Street and North Madison Avenue, and sites at Carrie Martin, Laurene Edmondson, Lincoln and Sarah Milner elementary schools.
Children in low-income families
Children need to be 4 years old by Oct. 1 of this year to meet the criteria, Clements said.
“We do serve 3-year-olds, but they must have at least three risk factors ... and our 3-year-old classrooms are almost full,” Clements explained.
Early childhood students attend school half days, Monday through Thursday.
In addition to the Colorado Preschool and Head Start programs, the local early childhood program offers special education services for young children who have at least one identified disability. Last year, 195 children were enrolled in the special education program, and 139 students were in the Head Start program.
“All our classrooms are served by highly qualified teachers,” Clements said. “An occupational therapist and a speech therapist are also in the classroom one day a week as well.”
If the local district does not fill the Colorado Preschool slots by Oct. 1, it will lose funding for the additional 45 slots, Clements said.
Full text available at The Reporter Herald.