Wednesday, August 26, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
PRESCHOOL:
Parents have more
options this year
Continued from page 1
According to the Oregon
Department of Education9s
Early Learning Division,
Preschool Promise grants
are awarded in order to sup-
port <publicly funded, high
quality, local and culturally-
relevant early child care and
education programs.=
The target population for
the Preschool Promise grants
are children in families that
are living at 200 percent of
the poverty level, as well as
other underserved children in
the community.
A slowdown in the grant-
awarding process due to
COVID-19 resulted in the
school district having to
postpone hiring teachers,
which subsequently delayed
the start of the program to
late September, according to
Principal Joan Warburg.
Despite the delays,
Warburg is ecstatic that things
are coming to fruition.
<We have our staff hired
now and we are thrilled to be
offering this service to our
families, as we believe pas-
sionately in equitable oppor-
tunities for all children,= she
said.
Mylee Card, who will
implement the program, con-
curred, saying <I9m so excited
to be a part of implementing
the Preschool Promise Pre-K
classroom at SES. Being a
kindergarten teacher I know
exactly what I would like my
students to be able to do when
they enter my kindergarten
classroom and we will be able
to provide these foundational
skills to our pre-K students.=
According to Warburg,
Sisters Elementary will be able
to accommodate up to 18 stu-
dents and noted that families
will need to apply and qualify
through the Early Learning
Hub of Central Oregon.
<The state is currently
finalizing criteria and we will
be releasing the information
as soon as all the details are
finalized,= she said.
SPRD, which has offered
preschool for the past 10
years, will continue to do so,
continuing its cooperation
with the school district, but
at a new site on the grounds
of Sisters Community Church
in the former Sisters Christian
Academy building.
Jennifer Holland executive
director at SPRD explained
that a number of factors con-
tributed to the change of loca-
tion, including the elemen-
tary school9s need to allocate
space and Sisters Community
Church9s desire to be of help
to the community.
<Our attitude is that we
are all in this together for kids
and families, so SPRD will
continue to work in collabora-
tion with the school district,
including on teacher training
and staff development,= said
Holland.
Due to COVID guidelines,
the SPRD preschool will have
one cohort of 3 and 4 year
olds that will be in a full-day
program and two other groups
that will be half-days.
<The 8Firefly9 pro-
gram will be full day,
while the 8Dragonfly9 and
8Grasshopper9 cohorts will
be half-day,= she said. Rather
than strictly being grouped
by age, the cohorts will be
determined by schedule needs
of the families, according to
Why is preschool so important?
According to a Learning
Policy Institute report from
January 2019, research is
clear that preschool can have
long-lasting positive results
for children.
Research finds that pre-
school programs that demon-
strate the strongest and most
persistent positive effects
employ well-qualified educa-
tors, use a developmentally
appropriate program, and pro-
vide adequate learning time
for students.
This report confirmed the
preponderance of evidence
demonstrating that high-qual-
ity preschool leaves children
better prepared for school,
especially in terms of their
academic skill development.
The report included
reviews of rigorous evalua-
tions of 21 public preschool
programs, and that students
who attended high-quality
preschool programs reaped
benefits that would last
throughout their lives, and
that they were prepared for
school and experienced sub-
stantial learning gains in com-
parison to children who did
not attend preschool.
Mary Ryan, director of
Wellspring Preschool said
many people don9t think of
preschool as being more than
fun and games.
<A person may be tempted
to say, 8Oh, it9s just pre-
school,9 but long-term anal-
ysis of preschool alumni
shows that children attending
a preschool, with dedicated
academic curriculum, out-
perform their peers on every
level from kindergarten readi-
ness to college graduation
and postgraduate degrees,=
she said. <In fact one study
from the Brookings Institute
broke it down into a very tan-
gible return on investment
when they stated, 8Every dol-
lar invested in preschool saw
a return of $3.39 in earnings
and tax revenue from these
children, who matured into
adults who abided by the law,
pursued higher education, and
earned high salaries.9=
In its grant application,
Sisters School District relayed
its strong belief in the impor-
tance of preschool and the
collaboration with families,
stating, <We, the pre-K staff,
know a child9s early learning
experiences have a significant
impact on their future success
in and out of the classroom
and so it is our goal to collab-
orate and partner with parents
in an effort to work together
to prepare their child for their
most healthy, happy, and pro-
ductive future.
<Together we will build a
community where learning is
celebrated and all members
feel safe, engaged, supported,
challenged and empowered.
When we create a community
that celebrates learning we
are fostering a growth mind-
set and establishing a foun-
dation for life-long learning,
productive citizenship, and
overall wellness and success.
We believe parents are their
child9s first teacher and so
the knowledge and wisdom
they share on behalf of their
child throughout the year will
help us engage, support, and
challenge their child as they
access their full potential.=
Holland.
Holland reported that as of
August 21, a total of 40 kids
had registered. Funds from the
State of Oregon Employment
Related Day Care (ERDC)
program can help qualified
parents cover the costs of
SPRD preschool, according to
Holland. Financial aid is also
available through the Bonnie
Malone Scholarship fund.
<It9s been a lot of work,
but we are ready to kick off
a great school year for these
kids,= said Holland.
She acknowledged the
Sisters Community Church9s
commitment to being a posi-
tive contributor to young peo-
ple in Sisters.
<They are pleased their
building can be used and they
are developing ideas for other
supports for young people
including mentoring,= she
said.
The SPRD program is
set to start on September 1.
Registration and other infor-
mation about the program can
be found at the SPRD website
at www.sistersrecreation.com/
activity-category/preschool/.
Another addition to the
preschool scene, also starting
September 1, is the Wellspring
Preschool and Child Care
Center, which will be oper-
ated through Wellhouse
17
Church and directed by Mary
Ryan. According to Ryan,
Wellhouse church recog-
nized the growing need for
preschool education, as well
as childcare, in Sisters and
responded accordingly.
<An important core foun-
dation at Wellhouse Church
is building community, so
it seemed natural to include
preschool and childcare as an
integral part of building and
loving our community,= she
said. <When Sisters Christian
Academy closed, it opened
the door for Wellhouse to
step in and continue a quality
faith-based preschool.=
Wellspring Preschool is
open to ages 3 to 5 for both
half day and full day Monday
through Thursday, and the
Wellspring childcare will
serve ages 3 to 12 Monday
through Friday, includ-
ing hours before and after
school.
The Sisters Area Chamber
of Commerce lent its support
to the new preschool by grant-
ing a $2,500 to help provide
families with scholarships.
Registration and other
information is available at on
the school9s facebook page
(Wellspring Preschool and
Child Care Center), via email
at info@westsidesisters.org6
or by calling 541-549-4184.
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