Five years ago, the city of West Sacramento embraced a noble mission: providing free, quality preschool to every 4-year-old in town.

Step by step, the city is moving closer to that goal.

West Sacramento's universal preschool program has added 72 preschool slots in private homes and centers over the past two years, serving children of all income levels. In addition, the program has worked to upgrade the education that 183 low-income 4-year-olds receive in state and federal preschool classrooms.

"For West Sacramento, this is not just a project. It's a change in the way we deal with our children," said Carolyn Pierson, a former West Sacramento city councilwoman who represents the city on its universal preschool advisory council. The goal is to provide no-cost preschool for 600 4-year-olds a year by 2015, she said.

West Sacramento was the smallest of nine communities across the state selected to participate in First 5 California's pilot "Power of Preschool" program in 2005. The state's First 5 commission, which receives tobacco tax income, is dedicated to improving the education and well-being of children from newborn to age 5, said information officer Bill Madison.

The pilot programs will be funded through 2010 and evaluated for effectiveness, he said.

"These are the most important years in a child's life," Madison said. "We're looking at whatever works."

West Sacramento's program has a budget of almost $700,000 for the 2007-08 year. The city dedicated $100,000 in sales tax revenue and another $100,000 in developer fees collected for child care purposes. Other contributors include Yolo County's First 5 early childhood commission, the state First 5 commission and other grant sources.

West Sacramento is the only city in the region that taxes new development for child care, Pierson said. The city's effort also is the only one among the nine pilots to put the program into family child care centers, she said.

One such residential center is Lilia Guerrero's Itsy Bitsy Preschool in the city's south area. Guerrero's school in her home serves 18 children, including 11 in the universal program who attend for free.

She said there are many families whose incomes are too high to qualify for existing subsidized slots but who still struggle to afford preschool. The universal program provides a strong start to their education, she said.

Parent Sophia Bates said she appreciates the no-cost half-day program at Guerrero's home. It has been an enriching experience for her son Gavin, 5, she said.

"He used to be so quiet and didn't open up much," Bates said. "Now he is very talkative."

In the universal program, child-teacher ratios are low, teachers receive extra training, and children receive extra services, such as screening for learning problems and speech therapy needs.

"Even though I am doing this in my own home, I get the professional support I need," Guerrero said.

The effort also has focused on existing state preschool and Head Start programs in West Sacramento by updating classrooms, paying teachers more and instituting higher standards.

The program's first annual report, released last month for the 2006-07 school year, states that the 135 children enrolled that first year showed strong improvements in their academic skills, such as letter and word knowledge.

Full text available at The Sacramento Bee.