Panel discusses preschool programs

There are efforts to make early childhood education more accessible and affordable in Monroe County, a panel of five experts said Tuesday.

But there’s still a long way to go.

More than 50 residents posed questions to the panelists at Deer Park Manor in Bloomington. The panelists outlined current efforts to provide accessible, quality and reasonably priced education to pre-kindergarten children.

One way Monroe County Community School Corporation  is trying to expand access to affordable preschool is through the federally-funded program at Fairview Elementary School, MCCSC Elementary Director Cameron Rains said.

The Fairview class is funded by the Title I grant and has free enrollment. However, one of the largest problems with Fairview, and all preschool education, is securing the resources necessary to broaden the number of seats available, Rains said.

“Our access rate to preschool is in the bottom 40 percent,” Rains said.

He said one reason access rates are low is because the state doesn’t fund preschool programs.

“The state needs to have discussions about preschool education before it considers funding,” said Dana Jones, early childhood specialist with the Indiana Department of Education.

Jones said Indiana school districts are not required to report data about preschool readiness to the state, and that would need to happen before the state could directly fund programs. There are currently about 80,000 Indiana students attending full-day kindergarten, Jones said.

The fact that the state actually wants to have a discussion about pre-kindergarten education is enough for now, said Tina Peterson, president of Foundation of Monroe County Community Schools.

She said the current goal is to use the funding MCCSC can secure through grants to extend seats for at-risk students. Long-term solutions have yet to be established, she said.

Entire communities should be involved in developing a solution, United Way Monroe County Director Barry Lessow said.

“Awareness must be raised,” Lessow said.

He said there were many statistics showing preschool education has a positive impact at an individual, community and national level. Lessow said every dollar spent on a child’s preschool education yields a $7 return.

Long-term benefits aside, kindergarten-readiness rates alone warrant expansion of preschool programs, Jones said.