Brevard Public Schools looks to expand voluntary prekindergarten program

Finch Walker, Florida Today
·4 min read
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In an effort to stop bad behavior before it starts and improve student achievement, Brevard Public Schools is looking to expand its voluntary prekindergarten program.

The district already serves more than 1,400 kids in VPK, with 85 openings in the 29 schools where classes are available. But not every program is open to all children, as some are dependent on a family's location, parents' income and whether or not a child has an IEP.

During their latest work session, the board agreed that in addition to expanding the program, it was important to get the word out on what VPK classes are currently available.

"If we could figure out a way to market more effectively to these potential students, I think that that's huge," said Board Chair Megan Wright.

What's available in Brevard?

Brevard Public Schools offers numerous VPK classes, though not every child is eligible for each program.

Here's what's offered in the district:

  • Step FourWard: These kids have to live in the attendance area for their school. Each classroom must have a teacher-student ratio of 1:10.

  • Blended VPK: These classrooms allow ESE students -- students with disabilities -- and general education students

  • High school VPK: These classrooms are part of BPS' career and technical education program. With a maximum classroom size of 20 kids, there's a teacher-student ratio of 1:10.

  • Head Start: This program is federally funded and enrollment is based on family income guidelines. Each class can serve 20 kids.

  • PreK VE: This program is for ESE students with IEPs, or Individualized Education Programs. Students are assigned to a class based on their home address or whatever school can serve their needs best.

The school board pledges allegiance during Tuesday's board meeting.
The school board pledges allegiance during Tuesday's board meeting.

There are about 120 private VPK providers in Brevard, though the number fluctuates often.

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Where can they expand?

It costs about $30,950 to open a VPK classroom, and all classrooms in the district have been redone in the past two years.

Options for expanding the program are fairly limited. To expand, a school needs to be below 85% capacity, and the district would like to use Title I funding to cover the cost of opening a classroom, according to Tara Harris, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, and Marilyn Chappie, director of early childhood education.

Apollo Elementary is currently the only school below 85% capacity where Title I funds can be used for a full-day program.

Other elementary schools below 85% capacity -- Challenger 7, Gemini, Holland, Lewis Carroll, Ocean Breeze, Quest, Roy Allen and Suntree -- could potentially get a VPK classroom, but they would need to be funded differently, or the programs could be run as half-day programs.

Involving marginalized communities

At the same work session, student achievement was discussed, with the board looking at data from Florida's new FAST test. It's a progress monitoring test that assesses students three times a year.

According to the data, during the 2022-2023 school year, all third grade students improved on their math and reading scores over the course of the year. However, there was a significant gap between white students and other ethnicities, with Black students showing the lowest scores in math and reading. By the third assessment last year, 62.1% of white students were reading at grade level, while only 34.2% of Black students were reading at grade level. As for the math scores, 63.3% of white students were on grade level by the third assessment, while 32.4% of Black students were on grade level.

Bernard Bryan, education chair of South Brevard NAACP, has analyzed data related to VPK enrollment and wants to see more enrollment of kids from marginalized communities.
Bernard Bryan, education chair of South Brevard NAACP, has analyzed data related to VPK enrollment and wants to see more enrollment of kids from marginalized communities.

A number of factors come into play regarding achievement gaps, but Bernard Bryan, education chair of South Brevard NAACP, is concerned about the role VPK enrollment plays. He's analyzed data showing VPK enrollment in private and public schools from the 2020-2021 school year through the 2022-2023 school year, and Black students only make up a small fraction of the population -- about 14.2% in 2022-2023, or 694 out of 4,881 students.

The low enrollment, he believes, is caused by a combination of Black families not knowing what VPK programs are available to them, and these programs not being available in low income areas.

Making sure every spot is filled is important to him to help set students up for success.

"If they're not getting that (education) early, and you go to kindergarten, you're going to be way out of whack, and now you've got discipline stuff just going all over the place," he said. "So there's the ability of a child to learn certain educational skills (like) recognizing numbers, letters ... there's a lot of opportunities for a child to get ready."

Finch Walker is the education reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at fwalker@floridatoday.com. X: @_finchwalker

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: VPK at Brevard Public Schools: expanding program, improving enrollment