Preschool to kindergarten and elementary to middle school are transitions where DPS loses students, so the district plans to offer more choices for families at a higher level.
The new building configuration will be:
- Preschool: Rosa Parks Early Learning Center, River’s Edge Montessori.
- Adding seventh grade: Belle Haven, Cleveland, Horace Mann, and Valerie, in response to families asking for this option.
- K-6 buildings: Eastmont, Edison, Fairview, Kemp, Kiser, Louise Troy, Roosevelt, Ruskin, Westwood
- K-8 buildings: Charity Adams and River’s Edge, International
- No changes to grades offered: E.J. Brown, Wogaman, Wright Brothers, Stivers School for the Arts, Meadowdale, Belmont, Dunbar, Ponitz and Thurgood Marshall.
Backlog in preschool funding
Lisa Minor, the district’s assistant superintendent, said this configuration will allow some savings on preschool after Ohio changed the way the state reimburses districts for preschool, and offers families more choices.
For preschool, three-year-olds who qualify can do a half-day program and four-year-olds will be offered a full day, Minor said.
DPS currently serves about 700 preschool students, Minor said. The district doesn’t plan to lay off any preschool teachers as many positions have been filled by long-term substitute teachers.
A $4.3 million city of Dayton levy passed in 2016 to make preschool available to all four-year-olds in the city, but those funds go to Preschool Promise, not Dayton Public. However, DPS works closely with Preschool Promise.
Minor said previously, the district was reimbursed from the state for how many families they had. Now, individual families have to go in and apply for state funds, which slows down how quickly DPS gets those funds.
Robyn Lightcap, Preschool Promise director, said the new system, under the Ohio Department of Children and Youth, was meant to streamline the funding process.
“The challenge is that the system is not working efficiently, so it has caused a lot of backlog and headaches for families, for preschool providers, for the county (Job and Family Services) folks,” Lightcap said.
Lightcap stressed districts and providers will eventually get the funds. But it’s February, and most families applied for these funds last summer.
She said the Ohio Department of Children and Youth director is aware of the issue, as are local legislators.
Evidence shows high-quality preschool helps children achieve better scores as they continue through the school system and makes them more ready for kindergarten. But it’s not mandatory like K-12.
“Because we do not fund preschool appropriately in our country from federal and state dollars, I understand that districts have had to reevaluate,” Lightcap said.
Shannon Cox, the Montgomery County Educational Service Center superintendent, noted that public schools are required to offer preschool to special education students, but some typical peers must be in the same classroom. Transportation also must be offered to special education preschoolers but is not required to be offered to any other preschoolers.
Preschool Promise can help families find options to send children to preschool and pay for it. Be Ready By Five is a website with options for people who are expecting and who have kids. Families can also call Preschool Promise at 937-329-2700.
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