Clarksville Elementary to offer On My Way Pre-K, expand preschool

Brooke McAfee, The Evening News and the Tribune, Jeffersonville, Ind.
·4 min read

May 26—CLARKSVILLE — Clarksville Community Schools will see a major expansion of the district's preschool program in the upcoming school year.

Starting in 2022-23, the state's On My Way Pre-K grant program will be offered for preschool students at Clarksville Elementary School. The district will also move to full-day programming and offer additional preschool classrooms.

The statewide On My Way Pre-K program covers preschool tuition for 4-year-old children from eligible families, and it allows them to attend high-quality preschool providers.

The grant is offered through the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, and it is only available for Pre-K programs ranked at a Level 3 or 4 on the state's Paths to QUALITY rating system. Clarksville's program is ranked at a Level 3.

The elementary school will have three preschool classrooms offering full-day programming and will provide both general education and special education. The school is now offering only one preschool classroom with two half-day programs.

Clarksville Assistant Superintendent Brian Allred said the school district "is probably one of the last schools" in the area to provide only half-day programming, and school leaders realized it was a "no-brainer" to expand the program.

"I've been hearing from our teachers, I've been hearing from our principal about how important this move is to get a full Pre-K program going for our kids to help them," he said. "It's been needed."

Becoming eligible for On My Way Pre-K is an "added benefit" as the district switches to a full-day program, Allred said.

Kids must turn 4 by Aug. 1 to be eligible for On My Way Pre-K. If families do not qualify for the grant, Clarksville's preschool program costs $150 per week.

There will be about 60 to 65 preschool students at Clarksville Elementary, Allred said. He has worked with Erica Woodward, senior project manager for On My Way Pre-K, to get the program off the ground.

Woodward noted the results of a multi-year study from Purdue University showing strong results from students through the third and fourth grades who attended On My Way Pre-K. The study found students developed stronger skills in school readiness, language and literacy than peers in lower-quality programs.

"It has proven that the On My Way PreK programs prepare these children for kindergarten, and that's what we need right now, especially coming out of or being in the times of COVID," she said. "It's working, and it's proven data."

Clarksville Elementary Principal Carey Davis also serves as director of the the district's preschool program. She said many families have not had the opportunity to enroll their kids in any type of Pre-K program, and COVID-19 has made it even more difficult for them to socialize with other kids.

She looks forward to the social and emotional benefits of the program. It is also important for eligible families to have a "quality PreK program they don't have to pay for," Davis said.

Deanna Horvath, preschool teacher at Clarksville Elementary, teaches 20 students in the morning and 19 in the afternoon. It is her 10th year teaching with Clarksville Community Schools, but her first year teaching preschool in the district.

She looks forward to the expansion of the program, and she emphasizes the importance of Pre-K in preparing students for kindergarten. It helps them become introduced to letters and other concepts, and it has many social benefits for the students, she said.

"Preschool plays a very intricate role in children's development not only educationally but socially and emotionally," Horvath said. "In preschool, they're able to share, they learn how to talk to each other, what quiet voice is, how to line up in the hallway — all those things you need to be successful in kindergarten."

She expressed excitement about the move to full-day programming, saying she hopes "it will just blossom and keep growing and growing."

Allred said the intention is to maintain a "very good, robust curriculum for these young kids coming so we will be kindergarten-ready."

"It's not just we're going to open up playtime," he said. "This is a serious educational opportunity for Pre-K kids, and this district is committed to offering that, and that's what our plan is to do."

All PreK applicants must fill out a form for On My Way PreK, even if they do not qualify for the program. Families should learn whether their child has been accepted into the PreK program at the end of the month or early June.

Students who live in the boundaries of Clarksville Community Schools will be given first preference for the preschool program, and those who do not receive a slot in Clarksville's PreK program will be placed on a waiting list.