Florida

Slow start to pre-K sign-up

In Sarasota, Manatee counties, only 55 families have registered for summer session
By LAURA GREEN

As private day-care centers wrap up the inaugural year of the state's free prekindergarten program, public schools are gearing up for the summer session.

In July, Florida became only the third state to offer free preschool to every 4-year-old.The program was designed to start all children, even those whose parents couldn't afford preschool, on an equal academic footing in kindergarten.

The state estimates 35,000 4-year-olds will enroll in the summer school, which will be taught primarily in public schools.

But registration is off to a slow start across Southwest Florida, and school officials are stuck guessing at how many teachers to hire.

"That's a real concern," said Lori White, associate superintendent for Sarasota County schools. But White thinks the district has enough teachers to meet the demand. "It's a matter of trying to get an accurate projection," she said.

Across Sarasota and Manatee counties, only 55 families have registered for the summer session. More have expressed interest. Several hundred who registered in the fall could use their vouchers for the summer.

Charlotte County figures were not available. Summer pre-K is open to any child who turned 4 on or before Sept. 1 and did not attend the school-year program.

At one time, the state expected summer numbers to rival the school-year program, which includes about 92,000 4-year-olds. "The summer was always going to be the catch-all for any parent who didn't participate in the fall," said Janet Kahn, executive director of the Early Learning Coalition of Sarasota County.

While there were enough slots to serve every child who registered for the fall, families would have had to travel 30 miles or more in some communities to reach them.

Pre-K organizers are wondering whether parents simply don't know about the summer program or if they're turned off by the long hours and conflicts with family vacations.

Schools are rushing to fit the state-mandated 300 hours of teaching into the summer months by holding seven- or eight-hour classes a day.

The school-year program covered 540 hours through half-day classes at most schools.Local educators who worried that students couldn't tolerate such long classes petitioned the Legislature to amend the pre-K law, but the lobbying effort failed.

Legislators compensated for the longer summer classes by placing tighter requirements on the summer in the original law, state officials said.

Teachers in the summer pre-K program must have a bachelor's degree and teaching certification. No more than 10 students can be assigned to a teacher in summer school.During the school-year program, the ratio was 18 students to a teacher with an aide. And teachers needed only 40 hours of training.

"The Legislature was looking at the compressed time frame and wanted to make sure the quality was still there," said Warren May, spokesman for the Agency for Workforce Innovation, which oversees the Office of Early Learning.

With more than two months before the summer program begins, low enrollment numbers may not signal a problem.The school-year program got off to a similar slow start. Day-care providers were reluctant to register. The state was slow to outline procedures for paying providers and collecting paperwork.

Only about 42,000 of the 170,000 4-year-olds expected registered by the start. But families and providers warmed to the program as the months progressed. Families continued to enroll during the course of the year.

Enrollment has now doubled.

A survey of parents and providers reported widespread satisfaction with the first year, according to the Agency for Workforce Innovation, the state agency running the prekindergarten program.

Among the parents surveyed, 92 percent said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the program.

Stephanie Young, director of The Young Children's Academy in Englewood, said pre-K has improved the chances for many of her students.

"Most of the kids that I have in my program this year haven't been in a school environment before. Otherwise, they'd be going in with no idea of the structured school day," she said.

Low enrollment is not a problem statewide. Organizers in Jacksonville tapped the public libraries to serve as registration centers.

About 650 children registered on one Saturday, May said.

While local families may not be flocking to the summer program, more are inquiring about next fall's program.

"Kids will have a more even playing field when entering kindergarten," said Carol Hunt, executive director of Resource Connections for Kids, Manatee County's early learning coalition.

"They will have the skills they need to be successful."