We are delighted by the news that RSU 12 is one of 13 Maine school districts to share in a $14.8 million Department of Education preschool expansion grant.
To date, all available research indicates the earlier children start learning, the better they do over life’s long haul. We certainly support pre-K classes in concept. As always, however, the devil is in the details.
Specifically, we will be interested to see how this works in RSU 12, especially in light of the proposal to locate the pre-K classes in facilities in Chelsea and Somerville.
We are confident the facilities are perfectly capable of serving the purpose, but we question whether the locations are ideal for the entire RSU. They will certainly serve students in the immediate area well, but pose a conundrum for preschoolers in the outlying areas; Westport Island for example.
The benefits of early education are manifold, but what are the costs of committing 4-year-olds to daily commutes of an hour or more?
We also wonder where the 70 new preschool students are going to come from. Are they in the system now or are they going to move into the system? The demographics of Maine’s school-age population have been known for some time and everything is trending down.
Still, it’s a five-year grant and there is plenty of time for school officials to answer the questions of who and where and how much and when. Universal preschool is a laudable goal, and thanks in part to this grant, RSU 12 officials have an opportunity to make it fly.
