Full-day preschool coming to Freehold

[admin]

www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080807/COMMUNITY/808070445/1285/LOCAL09

FREEHOLD — For the first time this fall, free full-day preschool will be available to all 4-year-olds in town, according to borough school district officials.

Sixty students have been accepted into the program, whose expansion to full-day marks the first step in a five-year process toward universal preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds in the district, said Donna Johnson, principal of Freehold Learning Center.

The Freehold School District is one of 87 districts statewide that are mandated to start implementing a full-day preschool program. The Red Bank and Keyport districts also are required to create full-day programs.

Free preschool education already is offered in the so-called Abbott districts, which include Neptune, Asbury Park, Keansburg, Long Branch and 27 other districts in the state.

Under the state's new plan, preschool also will be offered to all children in the state who qualify for free or reduced-price school lunches, which includes families that meet certain income requirements.

The income limit for a family of four is about $37,000.

By the time the program is fully implemented in 2013, an estimated 70,000 children statewide will be eligible for free preschool.

In Freehold, four preschool classes will be offered this fall. The types of classes — general education, integrated, etc. — had not been determined as of last week, Johnson said.

The change was praised by Kevin Tennant, president of Freehold Learning Center's parent-teacher organization.

"I think it will be very beneficial for the children to start their school career on the right foot," Tennant wrote in an e-mail.

Tennant's son did not attend the district's preschool, but he was enrolled in a nursery school where he learned such lessons as the letters of the alphabet. Those lessons helped the boy during the 2007-08 school year, when he attended kindergarten at the Freehold Learning Center, Tennant believes.

"I feel the children attending the full-day (preschool) program will benefit as my son did," Tennant wrote.

In the past, the Freehold district ran half-day preschool classes for most students. A full-day preschool program was offered for children with disabilities.

This year's classes will be held at Freehold Learning Center and at First Presbyterian Church in Freehold, Johnson said.

Full-day preschool provides a host of advantages to students, says Johnson.

"There are just so many skills and developmental benchmarks that the kids can meet (in full-day preschool)," said Johnson.

Research has shown that children who attend full-day preschool exhibit gains in early learning skills, improved literacy, a lower need for special and remedial education and higher rates of high school graduation, Johnson said.

Those gains then extend into adulthood, with students who attend full-day preschool programs showing greater rates of college attendance, a higher median income and less likelihood that they will become involved in the criminal justice and welfare systems, Johnson said.

Kim Predham: [phone] or [e-mail].

[richardkelsey]

Aug 8, 2008 18:41:22 GMT -5 admin said:

www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080807/COMMUNITY/808070445/1285/LOCAL09

FREEHOLD — For the first time this fall, free full-day preschool will be available to all 4-year-olds in town, according to borough school district officials.

Sixty students have been accepted into the program, whose expansion to full-day marks the first step in a five-year process toward universal preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds in the district, said Donna Johnson, principal of Freehold Learning Center.

The Freehold School District is one of 87 districts statewide that are mandated to start implementing a full-day preschool program. The Red Bank and Keyport districts also are required to create full-day programs.

Free preschool education already is offered in the so-called Abbott districts, which include Neptune, Asbury Park, Keansburg, Long Branch and 27 other districts in the state.

Under the state's new plan, preschool also will be offered to all children in the state who qualify for free or reduced-price school lunches, which includes families that meet certain income requirements.

The income limit for a family of four is about $37,000.

By the time the program is fully implemented in 2013, an estimated 70,000 children statewide will be eligible for free preschool.

In Freehold, four preschool classes will be offered this fall. The types of classes — general education, integrated, etc. — had not been determined as of last week, Johnson said.

The change was praised by Kevin Tennant, president of Freehold Learning Center's parent-teacher organization.

"I think it will be very beneficial for the children to start their school career on the right foot," Tennant wrote in an e-mail.

Tennant's son did not attend the district's preschool, but he was enrolled in a nursery school where he learned such lessons as the letters of the alphabet. Those lessons helped the boy during the 2007-08 school year, when he attended kindergarten at the Freehold Learning Center, Tennant believes.

"I feel the children attending the full-day (preschool) program will benefit as my son did," Tennant wrote.

In the past, the Freehold district ran half-day preschool classes for most students. A full-day preschool program was offered for children with disabilities.

This year's classes will be held at Freehold Learning Center and at First Presbyterian Church in Freehold, Johnson said.

Full-day preschool provides a host of advantages to students, says Johnson.

"There are just so many skills and developmental benchmarks that the kids can meet (in full-day preschool)," said Johnson.

Research has shown that children who attend full-day preschool exhibit gains in early learning skills, improved literacy, a lower need for special and remedial education and higher rates of high school graduation, Johnson said.

Those gains then extend into adulthood, with students who attend full-day preschool programs showing greater rates of college attendance, a higher median income and less likelihood that they will become involved in the criminal justice and welfare systems, Johnson said.

Kim Predham: [phone] or [e-mail].

The NJEA wins another battle to expand the empire of public schools, hoisting the cost of another social experiment on the backs of New Jersey taxpayers. Oh wait -- it's "free," what the heck am I talking about.

I love the way this is written.

Here's an idea -- why don't they mandate that people get an education before having kids. That parents get training and counseling before marriage, that parents stay married, provide a loving home, read and teach their kids, and stay active in their education and lives, providing positive examples of morality, civility, and hard work.

There's a mandate that would actually make a difference in the lives of poor children from broken homes.

The state can keep flushing money down the toilet in places like Keansburg, Asbury Park and dozens of other third-world towns and cities -- but it won't make a d**n bit of difference until people -- parents and adults, accept responsibility for themselves, and put their children and families first.

I could be wrong -- I am sure this "free" pre-school will help with everything.

[admin]

Here is another perspective on this subject, coming in the form of a compliment to our town. I did notice one reply on the APP web site and had to laugh because it sounds like something I would write. ( I didn't)

www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080823/OPINION04/808230303/1032/OPINION

Program expansion will benefit children
Congratulations to Freehold Borough for expanding its preschool program for 4-year-olds from half day to full day. ("Full-day preschool coming to Freehold," Aug. 7.)

The change is a first step toward full-day preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds in the borough. Freehold is one of several dozen New Jersey districts that will receive state funding within five years to offer high-quality early education to all preschool-age children.

Long-term studies have shown the benefits of two years of quality preschool can be long-lasting. Students who attend are less likely to have to later repeat a grade and more likely to graduate from high school. They also are less likely to be placed in special education.

Gov. Corzine and the state legislators recognized the importance of preschool when they approved expansion beyond the 31 Abbott districts. Statewide, the expansion is expected to increase the number of children in such programs by about 75 percent, to 70,000.

Preschool expansion is a smart investment in New Jersey's future.

Cecilia Zalkind

Cynthia Rice

ASSOCIATION FOR CHILDREN

OF NEW JERSEY

[admin]

From the News Transcipt....

newstranscript.gmnews.com/news/2008/0827/front_page/001.html

60 pupils to be welcomed into preschool classes
Freehold Borough superintendent says space ready for 4-year-olds
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO Staff Writer
A comprehensive array of resources" are on tap to start the Freehold Borough School District's year and, according to Superintendent of Schools Liz O'Connell, this is exciting news.

O'Connell said when students return to school next week, they will be the recipient of some "unbelievable materials," including new textbooks and materials for math, language arts and science programs.

"This is pretty amazing, looking back at where we were just two short years ago," she said, referring to an extremely tight budget that administrators and the Board of Education were dealing with.

A new state school funding formula has since eased the district's finances somewhat.

Teachers will return on Sept. 2 to prepare their classroom and to have a day of professional development, according to O'Connell.

Children will return to classes at the Park Avenue Elementary School, the Freehold Learning Center elementary school and the Freehold Intermediate School on Sept. 3. There will be half-days on Sept 3, 4 and 5.

A new full-day preschool program is being launched this year. O'Connell said there will be two classes at the Freehold Learning Center, Dutch Lane Road, and two classes at the school district's off-site location, the Freehold Presbyterian Church, West Main Street. Each preschool class will have 15 pupils, all of whom are 4 years old.

"We have had professional development for our preschool teachers in August. We have also had curriculum trainers come to the school to train our teachers in implementing this new curriculum, 'Tools of the Mind,'" the superintendent said.

"This full-day preschool is going to make a big difference in our students as the children move through our school district. I think it will have long-lasting effects and will help them to achieve academically," she said.

The district will welcome new teachers for the 2008- 09 school year, including a full-time art teacher at each school. Last year two art teachers covered the three schools. Four new full-time humanities teachers will start the year in the school district, according to O'Connell.

"These new humanities teachers were provided with training in our literacy program," she said. "The program, Literacy Education for Adolescents, is a themed approach to instruction in language arts and social studies."

The district will pilot the Literacy Education for Adolescents program in the Freehold Learning Center's fourth and fifth grades.

O'Connell said the school district will also be piloting a new math program in preparation for a math curriculum which will be adopted for the 2009-10 school year.

"We will be piloting different math series," the superintendent said, "and working with teachers and materials donated by the vendors. We will select one of them for grades K-8."

Jim Keelan, the president of the Freehold Borough Board of Education, said he is looking forward to the school year.

"We will be building on the success of last year, although this year we have many more resources because of the new state school funding formula. We will have more teachers, more in-service training for our staff and more teaching materials for our children. It looks like it will be a great year to be a student in Freehold Borough schools, with many more to come," Keelan said.