A May 26 workshop on the possibility of public pre-K education in Bristol brought together education experts, municipal and district officials, parents, teachers and community leaders for the first significant public exchange on the topic.
Bristol School Committee Chairman David Kolodin, who has repeatedly expressed support for founding a pre-K or “four-year-old” program, presided.
Although there are 162 public pre-K programs in Maine, most in “poorer districts,” there are none in Lincoln County, Kolodin said. Kolodin has visited five of the programs, all in neighboring Sagadahoc County.
Kolodin distributed a handout citing the work of Nobel Laureate Dr. James Heckman, who found a correlation between early childhood education and lower special education costs, lower crime, delinquency and teen pregnancy rates, higher high school graduation and college attendance rates and higher wages, among other advantages.
Carol Wynne, a Dept. of Education consultant and public pre-K community collaboration coach, said public pre-K programs are voluntary for schools and, if a school offers a program, voluntary for families, too.
Pre-K programs around the state often collaborate with existing institutions, such as Head Start and the YMCA, Wynne said. The shape of a pre-K program in any town “depends on the needs of children and families and depends on the resources of a community.”
A pre-K program also presents the challenge of transportation – a convenience not all programs choose to offer, Wynne said.
Leslie Livingston, director of Healthy Kids, said the Damariscotta nonprofit is “doing a lot with the 0-5 population.”
“We know the brain is 85 percent developed in those first five years of life,” Livingston said. In addition to basic academics, children learn compassion and relationships in that critical period, she said.
Craig Wilson, the director of the Central Lincoln County YMCA, offered his organization’s support and resources.
“The Y is here to help the community,” Wilson said. The backing of a national organization and CLC YMCA’s existing preschool program, with a capacity of 49 students, places it in a position to collaborate with the town, he said.
Alumni of the CLC YMCA preschool, upon entering kindergarten, know how to count in English and Spanish, know the ABC’s, colors and, in general, “are so far ahead,” Wilson said, “it’s really amazing.”
The YMCA program runs year-round and accepts infants as early as six weeks of age. With only half of its 10,000 square foot Nobleboro headquarters in use, it has “a lot of room to expand,” Wilson said. Unlike the typical public program, it’s open from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., solving most childcare dilemmas.
A recurring federal grant “totally” subsidizes the program’s food costs, Wilson said. At a cost of $150 per week, tuition falls in the “median level” for Lincoln County preschools.
“A lot” of subsidies and vouchers are available and, in some cases, reduce tuition by “as much as 95 percent” for families in need. The YMCA offers assistance with the financial aid application process.
“We do not make any money,” Wilson said. “We do it as a mission program because the Y feels like it’s important to do.”
Jon Teel, the executive director of Weymouth House Community Initiatives, said the organization, already a partner in programs that support “parents and caregivers” of preschoolers, is willing “to participate however necessary.”
Rob Davidson, a member of the Bristol Budget Committee, offered qualified support for a public pre-K program.
“I like pre-K,” Davidson said, but stressed the importance of “accountability” through testing. If the town institutes and pays for a pre-K program, “We have to show improvement,” he said.
“There are ways to assess where the kids are when they enter [kindergarten],” Steven Bailey, the incoming superintendent of the Central Lincoln County School System, said. “That’s certainly one of the things we’d like to see in place.”
Bailey is currently the assistant superintendent of schools for the South Portland School Dept. “We started a program this year for four-year-olds,” he said. The program, which Bailey described as a “huge community effort,” had just 12 students due to space limitations.
Bailey stressed the importance of the “voluntary aspect” of such programs and said public pre-K can “expand opportunity for students who don’t already have that opportunity.”
Kolodin said the town still has “a lot to talk about,” including budgetary and transportation issues.
“The funding is a big part of this,” Kolodin said. “With the economic times the way they are, there’ll be questions.”
“It’s not quite as simple as adding another grade,” Kolodin said.
Cathy Chase, a former kindergarten teacher at Bristol Consolidated School said, “I don’t think any program can be successful unless you include the parents’ perspective.”
At Kolodin’s urging, the parents in the audience did finally weigh in.
“I think we’d see a huge difference in kindergarten,” Christina Bradbury said. Incoming kindergarten students should know basic manners and academics, she said, and that knowledge allows for “more time spent on other things.”
Bradbury suggested opening the program to neighboring South Bristol, a proposition BCS Principal Jennifer Ribeiro said she, “would love to investigate” as tiny South Bristol “would never be able to have” a separate program.
Toby Crooker, another parent, offered a succinct response. “I think it’d be a good thing,” Crooker said. “I got three daughters under the age of four, so let’s get rolling.”