Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Preschool programs in Sioux Falls are expanding.
The Sioux Falls School District will double the size of its Learning Adventures program, with new sections being added at two schools, the Argus Leader (http://argusne.ws/1MvgmMN) reported. The program has grown each year since starting in 2013, and parents pay $125 biweekly to cover operating costs.
"We want to serve whatever need is out there, but if we can't break even, then we wouldn't run the program," coordinator DeeAnn Konrad said.
The program was begun, Konrad said, in response to questions about preschool coming from out-of-state families relocating to the district. Public preschool isn't funded by South Dakota.
Demand has led to expansions at private preschools. Preschool director Sandy Tams said Sioux Falls Lutheran added classes. Last year, there was an 8 percent jump in student enrollment at Sioux Falls Christian, according to early childhood director Michele Baker.
Options undergoing expansion don't do much to help Sioux Falls families that can't pay. For federally funded preschool program Head Start, there were 269 children on a waiting list as of February.
The federal government provides funding for 414 students in Sioux Falls for families that qualify. According to district early childhood coordinator Val Peters, slots get filled each year, with the waitlist left long consistently.
Several dozen children from the wait list for Head Start are accepted into a program by the Sioux Empire United Way. The program was developed in a partnership between the organization and the district.
Isabell Lambert, 4, is one of roughly 70 children being helped by that program this year. Amber Van Noort said her daughter wasn't able to write her name and was afraid to socialize with children her age.
"I knew that if she were to wait until kindergarten," Van Noort said, "she wouldn't know how to do a lot of things that they've been teaching her."
___
Information from: Argus Leader, http://www.argusleader.com
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
