A $750K boost for three preschools in Sandwich. Here's what's planned.

SANDWICH — A new three-year grant could be a game-changer for families with preschool-age children.

"I believe this will really help our community and make Sandwich stand out," said Lauren Galvano, coordinator of the Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative in Sandwich. "It's going to have a huge impact on our local families."

In November, the state Department of Early Education and Care issued a grant that will make $750,000 available for each of the grant's three years, said Galvano.

Sandwich Assistant Superintendent Maureen Wiklund applied for the grant, but Galvano was hired following the grant's approval to coordinate efforts between eligible preschools and the school system. The grant, she said, aims to connect community to the public school district, and licensed early education care programs.

"We want to explore ways to expand local access for 3- and 4-year-olds and provide opportunities for access to high quality care that meets the diverse needs of families in Sandwich," Galvano said.

The grant is aimed at making children at the various Sandwich preschools better prepared for public school kindergarten.

Wiklund couldn't be reached by the Times for comment.

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By initially partnering with three Sandwich preschools, including Joyful Noise at First Church Sandwich, Sandwich Integrated Preschool, and School for Early Learning, Galvano said she hopes to make preschool and child care more equitable in Sandwich.

"This is an amazing equalizer for our town," she said.

The grant will pay for speech, language services at preschools

In addition to setting aside money for Galvano's new position as coordinator, the grant will enable her to hire a traveling social worker and speech and language pathologist.

Both will spend time at all three partnering preschools to administer services. While speech, language and special needs programs have always been available at Integrative Preschool, which is located at Forestdale School, the additional partnering facilities will now be afforded the same services, during each school's available hours.

"Up until now, children have had to travel to the Integrative Preschool to receive services," said Galvano. "Now they can receive services where they are at. It's about providing equitable access to all of the children despite which preschool they attend."

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The extension in services is a pretty big deal, said Jennifer Munk, director of early learning at Forestdale School.

"The Integrative Preschool program is a great program but their time frame doesn’t fit every family," she said. "The goal with this grant funding is to begin to work together for all the children of Sandwich."

The grant will also pay for teacher trainings that closely match needs of preschools

Another leading aspect of the grant, said Galvano, is teacher training.

To map out what training will look like, Galvano said she will be surveying partner preschools to ensure training will reflect meaningful, and professional development. Some examples of training could include inclusive practices to meet children's needs; and how to choose the correct curriculum for available programs.

"We know from the initial planning process that there are specific needs out there — so now we are getting the ball rolling," she said.

For Jennie Valentine, minister of faith formation and service for First Church Sandwich, teacher training is another opportunity for local preschools to work together, with staff, teachers and children benefiting from shared technology and materials. Joyful Noise, she said, will be using some of the grant money for equipment and material to work on a child's gross and fine motor skills.

"This will help us enhance how we can use our outdoor space," she said.

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Currently, Valentine said, every school has its own personal focus, with needs based on the students who attend individual preschools.

Collaborative learning opportunities, she said, will also be available statewide and training will be shared between school systems that benefit from the same grant funding.

"This will give each of us the opportunity to make our programs the best they can be — to offer resources and programming that can be deeper and more elaborate," she said. "We can learn from each other."

Administrators hopeful grant can extend to all Sandwich preschools

At present, funding supports just three preschools in Sandwich, but Galvano said she hopes to eventually serve the five additional preschools in Sandwich, in addition to the 15 to 20 family care providers.

Despite what the census says about how much money supports the town of Sandwich, Galvano said 30% of school-age children currently receive subsidized lunches.

"It's a huge number," she said. "While we can't fix every problem right away, our hope is to alleviate some pain — and help get more people on vouchers — and get them grants or tuition to go to preschool."

Part of that process is to eventually apply for a sustainability grant, said Galvano.

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"If we can make sure funding stays available, we would take this to scale throughout the town," she said.

Valentine said the grant has the potential to bring every preschool in Sandwich together. By strengthening preschool programs, she said, the school system is building up public school overall.

"The grant means we can send students into the public schools even more prepared then they would have been," she said. "And allow them to excel in public school system in new ways."

By also broadening educational opportunities, Valentine said Sandwich students will all benefit in the future.

"When there are more people headed in the same direction together, we can provide a network that collaborates and supports," she said. "All preschools will benefit from learning best practices together as a result of this."

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Sandwich preschools gain new services, training with $750K grant