The Superior School Board is considering adding a 3K preschool program to the 2020-21 school year.
Jennifer Willoughby, early childhood and family education director, told board members during the March 2 Committee of the Whole meeting that the fee-based program would be self-sustaining.
It would also offer afternoon and wrap-around care options from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. No additional materials or furniture would be needed to add the 3K classes, which would be taught by a licensed early childhood teacher.
The program would be offered at Cooper and Northern Lights elementary schools.
While 4-year-old kindergarten is state-funded, 3K programs are not. The cost is expected to be $20 per day for the 3K program, which will run from 8:55-11:35 a.m., and an additional $15 per day for care from 11:35 a.m. to 3:27 p.m. Before- and after-school care would be available for $5 per day each.
ADVERTISEMENT
Treasurer Robert Morehouse asked how many students are expected to enroll.
“We know that there really aren’t a lot of options for 3-year-old preschool in town, outside of child care centers,”’ Willoughby said, and the ones that are available fill up quickly.
She anticipated filling a classroom of 16, although the district could serve more.
“I know with our Family Resource Center, we have had to triple our offerings for 3-year-old kiddoes just because parents are looking for something for their kids,” Willoughby said. “When they turn 3, they tend to want them in a preschool program of some kind, whether that be two days a week or three days a week or five days a week.”
Enrollment starts Wednesday, March 11, at www.superior.k12.wi.us .
In other action
The School Board is poised to pass a resolution supporting the elimination of the use of Native American mascots, symbols, images, logos and nicknames by schools in the state of Wisconsin and providing state funding to compensate those districts for the cost of retiring those mascots.
Only 31 of Wisconsin’s 421 school districts still use Native American mascots, Vice President Christina Kintop said. The board moved the resolution forward to its March 9 regular board meeting for final approval.
