Deadlines coming up for pre-K registration across Middle Georgia, with more demand than slots

Slots in prekindergarten classrooms remain limited, especially in Bibb County, even as officials tout the importance of preschool.

The goal is for 75 percent of the estimated 4-year-old population to be in pre-K, said Susan Adams, an assistant commissioner for the state's Department of Early Care and Learning. Houston County has a 72 percent rate, but it's about 50 percent in Bibb County.

"Having a quality pre-K education really sets a foundation for later learning," Adams said.

Lori Smith, the director of Bibb County's prekindergarten program, echoed the importance of early education from an academic perspective, particularly as elementary school standards get more rigorous.

"Children that enter in kindergarten, and that's their first year of school, find themselves behind."

Teaching students fundamental skills as early as possible, she said, pays dividends beyond the grammar school level.

"The research is real clear that if you want to impact graduation rates, the best way to do it is early instruction," Smith said.

Studies have been done in Georgia and other states, including North Carolina, that reflect consistent academic improvement for pre-K students in all academic areas. But also important, Adams said, are the gains that young students can make in social and emotional skills.

Generally, people think of concepts such as sharing and taking turns when they think of early childhood education, but Adams said it goes deeper than that.

"Those are really important things, but it's also things children learn about persistence," she said, noting the importance of learning how to continue trying when a task is difficult to complete.

Preschool also helps children learn to take care of themselves, promotes language and cognitive skills, nurtures a child's curiosity and helps develop motor skills.

DECAL directs funds from the Georgia Lottery into preschool programs across the area, both in public schools and private settings such as Childcare Network and Tender Years locations.

Smith said it's vital that 4-year-olds get experience in qualified programs like those, where they'll learn how to deal with structure and schedules, and not just a day care setting.

"What we see is that children benefit from any exposure to preschool," she said.

NOT ENOUGH OPENINGS

The problem is that there aren't enough seats for the families who want their child in such a program.

For the 2015-16 school year, 1,150 children registered for spots in Bibb County's public pre-K program, but only 792 got in. When you add in the private preschool centers, the number gets closer to 1,100.

But with more than 2,000 students in each elementary school grade in Bibb County, there's still a disparity between the number of pre-K students and the number of children who will likely enter kindergarten this coming fall.

And this year's class of applicants for public programs could be even bigger. Bibb County's registration continues through Sunday, Feb. 14, and for the first time, registration documents such as a birth certificate, parent identification and proof of residence aren't required until after students are selected by lottery for a program.

"That is new this year," Smith said, noting that in past years, "parents have come in and wasted their time."

All told, 427 children were registered on the opening day of the application period -- up by about 100 from last year and possibly a result of being able to apply online without gathering a stack of documents first.

"So far, we are running higher numbers than we ever have before," Smith said.

Houston County schools will register students for its pre-K programs from Feb. 22 through March 18, and parents there are expected to bring all their registration documents beforehand. Ron Wilson, director of special programs for Houston County schools, said officials there felt that "simplified" the process for parents and schools alike.

"We try to get as much information as we can on the front end," he said.

Even though Houston County has been running much closer to DECAL's goal rate of 75 percent of 4-year-olds in preschool, there were still about 200 people on that district's waiting list last year.

"We would love the opportunity to provide for every child or every family that wanted to have it," Wilson said.

To do that would require additional funding and more available sites. It costs about $3,700 per child to run a pre-K program, according to DECAL estimates, but Adams said the bigger concern is getting more locations opened to state standards.

"I think some of it is capacity, having quality capacity to increase," she said, noting that quality includes staff recruitment process as well as the facility.

Funding for Georgia's pre-K programs was cut in 2011, but Gov. Nathan Deal has sought to restore money to those classrooms.

"We're very appreciative of the support we get from the governor and the Legislature," said Reg Griffin, DECAL's communications officer.

Applications for new programs or expansion of existing programs through DECAL are available through March 28.

While both Adams and Smith noted that it was certainly ideal that students get in at the school where they'll attend elementary school, the key is to get a preschool education.

"What we see that's most important is that children go to school somewhere," Smith said.

This story was originally published February 7, 2016 at 8:13 PM with the headline "Deadlines coming up for pre-K registration across Middle Georgia, with more demand than slots ."