Brown County Schools’ preschools are officially high-quality learning environments, according to a statewide rating system — which is also making them more accessible to low-income families.
The preschools at Helmsburg, Sprunica and Van Buren elementary schools received their Paths to Quality Level 3 certifications from the voluntary accrediting organization earlier this month.
There are four levels in Paths to Quality. By reaching Level 3, the school district becomes able to accept Child Care and Development Fund vouchers from low-income parents to pay for preschool.
A full day of preschool in Brown County Schools costs $25; a half-day is $12.
There is a waiting list at the state level of parents wanting those vouchers, but if a parent is currently receiving a CCDF voucher, they can now use it to send their 3-, 4- or 5-year-old to preschool in the district, said Deborah Harman, director of student learning.
With Level 3 certification, Brown County Schools also will be eligible to accept On My Way Pre-K grant dollars if Brown County is established as a pilot county in that program. Currently, 20 counties in the state are eligible for On My Way Pre-K, including Monroe and Bartholomew. Grants are awarded to 4-year-olds from low-income families, and families can use them at any approved On My Way Pre-K program.
“Basically, their child would come to preschool and the state would pay for it, but the state only pays for it if you’re a Level 3 on the Paths to Quality scale,” Harman said. “… When the state has money through On My Way Pre-K funding available, you are eligible to put your hat in the ring as a county.”
Harman said the next step will be to advocate to Rep. Chris May, R-Bedford, and Sen. Eric Koch, R-Bedford, to see if Brown County can be added to the program. This legislative session, House Bill 1628 was introduced and it would expand On My Way Pre-K to the remaining Indiana counties with eligible providers.
The bill passed the Indiana House with 84 representatives voting for it, including May, who represents Brown County. It has been referred to the Indiana Senate’s Committee on Education and Career Development.
If approved, the change would happen after June 30.
“We are ready,” Harman said.
How it works
On My Way Pre-K is funded by the state and federal governments through the Family and Social Services Administration.
Preschool grants come with some requirements for the family. One of them is that a parent must either be employed, actively seeking employment or pursuing an education. The idea is that helping send children to preschool will help clear a barrier for the parent to go to work or school.
“This is part of kind of a leg up. It helps them,” Harman said.
On My Way Pre-K grants are only open to 4-year-olds who will be eligible to attend kindergarten the following school year.
Families must also be earning less than 127 percent of the federal poverty level.
“Monroe County has had difficulties filling their seats. There are some eligibility requirements on the parts of families that can be challenging,” Harman said.
Harman said Brown County Schools would like to at least see On My Way Pre-K dollars be distributed regionally instead of to individual counties. In Brown County’s region, there are other counties that are On My Way Pre-K eligible, but they haven’t used all of their grants. If the dollars were distributed regionally, it would free up any open grants for parents in other counties, like Brown County.
The ultimate hope is that On My Way Pre-K grants and CCDF vouchers will help provide local parents with another way to pay for early childhood education, ultimately replacing the scholarships currently provided by the Brown County Community Foundation.
The BCCF scholarships pay for a child to attend four sessions a week at preschool at no cost to the family.
“One of the things we want to be able to do is allow the foundation to move on to other kinds of important work,” Harman said. “Through the scholarship program we’ve been able to meet families’ needs here locally, and hope to be able to continue to do that until the state does create more opportunities for preschool, early childhood education for us.”
What it’s worth
“Brown County Schools was pursuing Paths to Quality because we know that quality preschools make a difference in the lives of children long term,” Harman said.
“Preschool in general, just being in and around other children in a safe environment, is helpful, but there are indicators of quality that really make a difference when it comes to long term in terms of education and how kids actually perceive themselves as students. Over the long course of a student’s career in school, the quality of the program makes a difference.”
To earn Level 3 accreditation, each preschool program had to meet various safety, curriculum, and teacher professional development requirements.
“Regardless of how it’s being paid for, we want to make sure it’s worth the child’s while and worth the family’s while,” Harman said.
One of those requirements is having a ratio of one teacher for every 10 children. Each preschool follows a planned curriculum, too.
Kindergarten teachers say it’s working.
“Our preschool children who go to kindergarten in Brown County are much better prepared than in the past,” Harman said.
“They have already fallen in love with their school; the teachers already know the families and they understand the routines. Families tend to get involved earlier in all kinds of opportunities the school has to offer. They are just part of the community sooner, and it really seems to make a difference in so many ways.”
In the past, preschool was viewed as more of a luxury, but now that view is shifting as educators see the impact it has on students even past kindergarten.
For example, Harman said students who attend preschool are most likely to pass the IREAD 3 test, which is the state’s indicator of reading success.
“We are more likely to see them reading at grade level. We’re more likely to see them engaged in school overall from having had a positive early learning experience,” Harman said.
Preschoolers also learn to socialize and how to play with others, which can be difficult to learn for children who live in rural areas without neighbors nearby.
Families choosing Brown County Schools for preschool could also help school enrollment overall. “Once they start preschool in their neighborhood school, “they stay. They kind of fall in love with their school and with the people there. The kids develop friends early. It just really seems to make a difference for the families,” Harman said.
The school district has to be at a Level 3 for about a year before pursuing Level 4, which includes a national certification.
Enrollment at each BCS preschool is ongoing. Harman said there is still room for new students at each school.
“We really try to accommodate parent schedules. We have times where we are full and times where we are not,” she said.
She added that it is easier to get a full-time preschool slot at the beginning of the school year when schedules are being developed.
Preschoolers with special needs also receive additional services within the classroom or in a small group setting during the time they are in school, Harman said.
“That is not something that is customary and usual. That is something that the state really would love to see everywhere. We have it in all of our buildings, and we are very proud to be able to say that,” she said.
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Brown County Schools preschool information: browncountyschools.com/preschool
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