Future of pre-kindergarten programs in limbo

BARSTOW • For 4-year-old Alina Davis, naming words beginning with the letter “p” — “pink,” “puppet,” “popcorn” — is part of getting a jump start on her long-term education.

Davis and an attentive group of 3- and 4-year-olds sat criss-cross in Mesepa Panama’s classroom Monday practicing their letter of the week. Fifty students in Barstow participate in the San Bernardino County First 5 — a state-grant-funded pre-kindergarten program aimed at prepping students for increasingly rigorous elementary school standards — a program now in danger of running out of money.

The popular program — with a perpetual waiting list — started in 2006 and is now in its last year of funding. It will only be able to continue next year if the state supplies Barstow Unified School District more grant funds to keep the approximately $200,000 program running, according to Teresa Healy, assistant superintendent of education at BUSD.

According to Bonnie Woodrome, San Bernardino County First 5 spokeswoman, several school readiness programs across the state are “sunsetting” or slated to end this year. The county will know in the next few months whether programs like pre-K classes will be around for next year, Woodrome said.

The potential change would be in addition to other pre-K cutbacks in BUSD. Montara Elementary School’s pre-K program, which usually runs from January to June, will not be offered this year due to recent budget cuts, Healy said. If the program disappears next year, the pre-K program offerings in the district will shrink from four to one, according to Healy.

For Pawn Olson, a classroom volunteer and mother of a current and past student of Panama’s, the classroom provides an irreplaceable environment for teaching her daughter, Treasure, a love for reading.

“She picked up that habit. She likes to read,” she said. With the help of the pre-K class, Olson’s daughter skipped kindergarten and entered first grade this fall.

“She comes here every day and gets to practice,” said Olson.

The state looks to award the grant to schools looking to launch pre-K programs for the first time, rather than sustaining existing programs, said Healy.

However, with the district’s high poverty rate, BUSD does qualify for the grant because the program aims to help low-income families and schools with low test scores.

“I’m hoping that they’ll change their minds,” Healy said.

Panama, one of the two First 5 pre-K teachers in BUSD, said students get a head start when parents get involved at an early age — an element emphasized in the program. Over the weekend, Panama loans out books and classroom materials for parents to reinforce lessons at home. She hangs all homework assignments in a neatly ordered bulletin board near the classroom door, showing who completed their tasks.

“That teaches the parents responsibility as well as the child,” Panama said.

Alisa Schultz, a county paraeducator, said in addition to gearing up a child’s brain for classroom learning, the program teaches students interpersonal skills.

“It’s a lot of social training — encouraging them to answer when they’re talked to,” said Schultz. It’s also a place where students can get hands on with their learning — like student Annica Carrion did as she finger-painted a multicolored design on Monday.

“They get dirty and mess with the glue — they can get creative,” Schultz said.

The district tracks the progress of its students who have participated in First 5 three times a year, said Healy who noted that the students’ developmental profiles indicate progress.

“The expectations have gone up so high,” said Healy. If schools don’t have pre-K programs, “our kids are starting off behind,” she said.

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