Post by novillero on Aug 12, 2008 9:47:29 GMT -5
Yes, look what we are being compared to in this article... Is this good or bad? Who qualifies?
Freehold expands full-day preschool
By Kim Predham • FREEHOLD BUREAU • August 12, 2008
FREEHOLD — This fall, for the first time, free full-day preschool will be available to all 4-year-olds in town, according to borough school officials.
Sixty children 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 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 [glow=red,2,300]Abbott [/glow]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 — such as general education or integrated — had not been determined as of last week, Johnson said.
The change was praised by Kevin Tennant, president of Freehold Learning Center's PTO.
"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 said.
"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 pupils. A full-day preschool program was offered to 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 pupils, Johnson said.
"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 pupils who attend full-day preschool programs showing greater rates of college attendance, a higher median income and less likelihood of becoming involved in the criminal justice and welfare systems, Johnson said.
This story includes material from previous Press stories.
www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080812/NEWS01/808120383/1285/LOCAL09
Freehold expands full-day preschool
By Kim Predham • FREEHOLD BUREAU • August 12, 2008
FREEHOLD — This fall, for the first time, free full-day preschool will be available to all 4-year-olds in town, according to borough school officials.
Sixty children 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 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 [glow=red,2,300]Abbott [/glow]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 — such as general education or integrated — had not been determined as of last week, Johnson said.
The change was praised by Kevin Tennant, president of Freehold Learning Center's PTO.
"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 said.
"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 pupils. A full-day preschool program was offered to 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 pupils, Johnson said.
"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 pupils who attend full-day preschool programs showing greater rates of college attendance, a higher median income and less likelihood of becoming involved in the criminal justice and welfare systems, Johnson said.
This story includes material from previous Press stories.
www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080812/NEWS01/808120383/1285/LOCAL09