DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – If every eligible Dallas child tried to get into Pre-K at their neighborhood school today, DISD says the district would be short by about 2,700 seats.
Part of the Bridge Plan package approved by the board of trustees last week will add Pre-K space to campuses that need it most. A total of five Pre-K wings and three early learning centers are included in the plan.
At Tom Field Elementary School in northwest Dallas, the two Pre-K classrooms are at capacity (A ratio of 24 students to one teacher and one teaching assistant per room).
Principal Jonica Lockwood says it is sad when parents who qualify can not get in.
“We’d like to serve everyone but we’re not able to,” Lockwood said.
The two classrooms only meet about half the neighborhood’s needs.
DISD’s Pre-K program serves low-income and military families, as well as families where Spanish is the primary language.
Qualifying families can apply outside of their neighborhood, at any DISD school that offers Pre-K.
Many families though, do not have the means to get their child to the other side of town.
Alan Cohen is the executive director of the Pre-K program for DISD. He says the greatest needs are at schools on the outer fringe of the school district.
“Over the next several years, more and more children are going to be moving to that area and we need to make sure that we’re ready for them,” said Cohen, who says the expansion plan is in the architectural planning phase after last week’s board vote.
A marketing campaign by the district encourages enrollment – and studies that show the long-term benefit of early education.
Tom Field is on the list of schools to get a Pre-K wing. It would double accommodation for that campus.
Parent Elizabeth Guerra says her son, Carlos, has benefited from Pre-K. She’s hoping to enroll her other child next fall. Admission for qualifying four-year-olds is on a first-come, first-served basis.
“My son comes home and never tells me anything else, but ‘What I’ve learned, what I’ve learned, what I’ve learned,” said Guerra.
DISD Pre-K Roundup is next week. More information can be found here: http://www.dallasisd.org/Page/28105
