Ogden School District expands preschool offerings with federal funds
-
- Paraprofessional Kristina Wilcox, left, and instructor Marissa Reitan, second from right, work with kids in a preschool class at East Ridge Elementary in Ogden on Monday, Feb. 7, 2022.
-
- Instructor Marissa Reitan works with kids in a preschool class at East Ridge Elementary in Ogden on Monday, Feb. 7, 2022.
-
- Paraprofessional Kristina Wilcox, left, works with kids in a preschool class at East Ridge Elementary in Ogden on Monday, Feb. 7, 2022.
-
- Karen Harrop works with kids in a preschool class at East Ridge Elementary in Ogden on Monday, Feb. 7, 2022. Harrop is director of special education and early childhood learning for the Ogden School District.
OGDEN — Formal schooling for many kids doesn’t just start with kindergarten anymore.
Nationwide enrollment among the preschool population — three- and four-year-olds — dipped in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. But the Ogden School District launched a new preschool offering for four-year-olds at the start of the the 2021-2022 school year, expanding the options available for parents wanting to bolster their kids’ educational foundation before kindergarten.
Participating kids will take what they learn “right into kindergarten,” said Karen Harrop, director of special education and early childhood programs for the district. Children who enter kindergarten after going through preschool “can get right into the content when we have these other skills taught. We can hit the ground running from day one.”
Preschool programming has already been offered in several Ogden schools through the Young Men’s Christian Association and the federal Head Start program, geared to low-income families. However, the new programming offered at East Ridge Elementary, New Bridge Elementary and the Early Childhood Center at the school district campus on Monroe Boulevard represents a new foray and focus on preschool education.
Funded with federal American Rescue Plan money, the offering is free and geared to four-year-olds from Ogden School District families. Sessions lasting two-and-a-half hours are offered in the mornings and afternoons at the three locations with a total of 90 spots between them — some of which are still open and available.
Many experts say preschool education can help build a foundation for students as they progress through the school system, bolstering educational outcomes over the long haul. Harrop said the focus in the new Ogden program is on literacy and preparing kids for the collaboration and cooperation necessary in the school environment, among other things.
Notably, the preschool curriculum ties in with the district’s kindergarten-through-second-grade curriculum. “There’s a basis in how we’re teaching. There’s a consistency in what we’re teaching,” Harrop said.
The Weber School District offers preschool programs for four-year-olds at many of its elementary schools. It ranges from free to $150 a month depending on the income level of students’ families and other factors. Some churches and other private entities also offer preschool programming.
‘THE BUS FOR US’
At one of the preschool classes at East Ridge on Monday, Marissa Reitan, the instructor, read the nine kids in the class a book, “The bus for us,” with everyone seated on a rug. It’s a story about a boy waiting for the bus to take him to school, encountering many other vehicles in the meantime.
As she read, Reitan would ask the kids questions, trying to engage them with the book. “Have you ever had to wait a really long time for something?” she asked. The kids responded, citing instances when they’ve had to wait seemingly insurmountable amounts of time — for Christmas, summer, a birthday, halloween.
Later, they took part in other activities — painting, putting together puzzles, playing with blocks.
Mixing play and instruction, the kids have learned letters, sounds, introductory math and more. “All of my kids in both of my classes can count to 20,” Reitan said.
Jer Bates, the Ogden School District spokesperson, said learning letters, numbers, words, sounds, math concepts, problem-solving strategies, the ability to focus, following instructions and regulating emotions are among the skills the preschool instructors aim to impart.
The addition of the preschool offerings came amid a U.S. Census Bureau report last year that showed a dip in enrollment in preschool, among other grade levels, in 2020. According to the data, the percentage of three- and four-year-olds enrolled in school fell from 54% of the total in 2019 to 40% in 2020. That was the first time since 1996 that less than half the kids in the age group were enrolled in school.
Concerns stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic seemed to factor in the reduction, which Education Week warned could have a ripple effect. “The decline threatens to derail decades of improvements in school readiness, particularly for the most-vulnerable children,” the specialized education publication reported.
Whatever the case, Harrop hopes the district can expand the preschool offerings in years to come. Costs are around $250,000 a year, with funding for the first couple years coming from the American Rescue Plan, the federal initiative meant to pull the U.S. economy from the downturn brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bates said the district will review how the initial class offerings go and, presuming “expected outcomes are realized,” seek out funding sources to keep the initiative going.
More information is available online at ogdensd.org/schools/preschool.