RSU 12 and the Wiscasset School Department, two districts that were once a single entity, are simultaneously preparing for new pre-kindergarten programs in the 2015-2016 school year.
The program offered by RSU 12, a Head Start collaborative supported by a multi-million dollar federal Department of Education grant awarded to the district in December 2014, is currently accepting enrollment applications for classrooms in Whitefield, Somerville, and Chelsea.
Wiscasset has budgeted for a new universal pre-kindergarten program, but must receive approval from the Maine Fire Marshal’s Office to use the planned location in the Wiscasset Middle School before it can open its pre-K classroom.
Wiscasset previously offered a pre-K classroom in the primary school through Head Start, a federal program limited to low-income students. The school system budgeted for its own pre-K classroom in 2015-2016 to streamline Wiscasset’s curriculum from pre-K to kindergarten and to offer the service to all interested families, interim Superintendent Lyford Beverage said.
Wiscasset’s program plans to provide a half-day program for a classroom with a maximum of 16 students. If there is the demand, two half day sessions may be offered, Beverage said. A teacher has already been identified for the position and the program is waiting for certification of its planned location.
Once certification is received, jumpstarting the program in Wiscasset will be, “rapid fire,” Beverage said.
RSU 12 received a Department of Education grant to support a full day pre-K program in an expanded number of locations over a five-year period. The grant contained “a lot of surprises” in its requirements, Superintendent Howard Tuttle said to the RSU 12 Board of Directors at their May 14 meeting.
There are still income eligibility requirements for students in the pre-K classrooms RSU 12 will offer in the 2015-2016 school year. The program, organized as a Head Start collaborative, will loosen those requirements to encompass a greater number of students and will serve as a building block to a future universal pre-K program at RSU 12, Tuttle said.
Staff for the classrooms will be employees of Head Start, per the grant requirements, which was a surprise, Tuttle said. However, Head Start will be able to provide a number of services for families, which RSU 12 cannot, such as home visits. Michaela Stone, a Head Start case manager that will be working in Somerville and Whitefield, helps families address a number of concerns, which range from basic necessities, such as ensuring access to food, heat, and electricity to goal setting for the future, she said.
According to Stone, she will be able to offer those services to all students and families who participate in RSU 12’s new pre-K program. “I’m excited about this,” Stone said. “It’s a whole new adventure to have one foot in the public school and one foot in Head Start.”
Stone’s Head Start is run through Midcoast Maine Community Action, which operates a number of Head Starts in the area. Previously located at Wiscasset Primary School, the Head Start will now work with RSU 12 and operate out of Somerville and Whitefield.
RSU 12 will also offer two classrooms at the Chelsea Elementary School, which will be a Head Start collaborative with the Southern Kennebec Child Development Corporation.
Transportation for pre-K students will be provided through the grant, which was previously a major impediment for qualified families to participate in Head Start, Chelsea Elementary School Principal Andy Doiron said.
Head Start and RSU 12 staff will undergo new training over the summer to streamline the curriculum from pre-K to kindergarten. According to Doiron, the major problem faced in the transition from Head Start to kindergarten is kindergarten teachers not being prepared for how advanced students have become.
RSU 12 is working to identify future pre-K classroom locations to serve students in Westport Island and Alna. While students in the southern area of RSU 12 are welcome to attend pre-K classes in the district, RSU 12 may not be able to provide transportation to those students in the 2015-2016 school year, Tuttle said.
If Wiscasset opens a pre-K classroom, a superintendents’ agreement could be made, which would allow Wiscasset to receive the subsidy for pre-K students in Westport Island and Alna. School choice does not apply to pre-kindergarten students.
RSU 12 intends to open up to seven classrooms for pre-K over the lifespan of the grant. The grant limits enrollment to families with incomes up to 200 percent above the poverty line. According to RSU 12 Board Chairman Hilary Holm, that translates to a family of four with an income of approximately $50,000.
RSU 12 is encouraging all interested families to apply. According to Tuttle, the grant will enable RSU 12 to launch its own universal pre-K program by increasing the district’s student count. The increased state subsidy from the new students will enable RSU 12 to provide universal pre-K throughout the district in the future, Tuttle said.
Enrollment applications for RSU 12’s pre-K program are available at all RSU 12 schools and their central office in Somerville. For more information about RSU 12’s program call 549-3261.
For more information about Wiscasset’s pre-K program call 882-6303.