Washington Elementary School in Fairfield to end 3-year-old preschool program

FAIRFIELD — The Fairfield Community School District plans to end its 3-year-old preschool program next school year, and has announced changes to its 4-year-old preschool program as well.

Washington Elementary School Principal Tina Townsend said the district wants to focus on growing its 4-year-old preschool program, and that is why it will switch from having the students at school two full days per week to four half days next year.

Under the current configuration, the 3-year-olds attend preschool for full days on Tuesday and Thursday, while the 4-year-olds go on Wednesday and Friday. Townsend said the district surveyed other schools in the area to see how they run their preschool programs, and learned that most of them only offer preschool to 4-year-olds. She said the staff and administration felt the students were not learning as well under the current two-day per week set up because there was too much time in between school days.

“If you attend preschool on Thursday, you’re not coming back again until Tuesday,” Townsend send. “We found that we were in a vicious cycle of having to reteach expectations. And since the kids are coming every other day, they’re only getting 60 days of preschool in a year. We want to increase our 4-year-old numbers and to see them every day, so we can get further in the curriculum.”

Starting this fall, Washington Elementary School will offer a morning and afternoon option to 4-year-olds. Students can attend class either in the morning from 8:30-11:30 a.m., or in the afternoon from 12:30-3:30 p.m. Preschool will run from Monday through Thursday. Townsend said the district decided not to hold preschool on Friday because the district plans to hold early outs frequently on Fridays, where students will be dismissed two hours early about every other Friday.

This school year, Washington Elementary has two 3-year-old classrooms of 16 students each, and about 20 students in the two 4-year-old classrooms.

Townsend said she knew the decision to end the 3-year-old program would affect local child care providers, so she met with leaders of the new Cambridge Little Achievers Center, and spoke to representatives of other day cares such as Mother’s Day Out, Singing Cedars and SIEDA Head Start. She asked if they could collectively absorb the children who would need their services next year when 3-year-old preschool is no longer an option.

“We know they all have a limited number they can take, but they were willing to serve 3-year-olds in their programs,” Townsend said.

For next year’s 4-year-old program, the Fairfield school district plans to offer transportation with drop-off sites, but it won’t be door-to-door.

“That will be based on the need we have,” Townsend said. “We might do a drop-off and pick-up with Cambridge Little Achievers where we get some of their 4-year-olds.”

In Iowa, preschool and kindergarten are optional. Children are not legally obligated to begin attending school until first grade. If they turn 6 by Sept. 15, they must be enrollment in school or participating in a homeschool program.

Townsend said she wants the public to know that the district’s decision to drop the 3-year-old preschool program was not motivated by a desire to cut the budget, and that it has been in the works for the past year.

“Our preschool budget is separate from the district’s general fund, and we’re not doing this as a cost-savings initiative,” Townsend said.

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Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com