Community Unit School District 201 officials announced at the latest school board meeting that they have started looking at ways to expand options for Spanish-speaking kindergartners and pre-K students with special needs.

Though expansion of the programs are still in the discussion phase, Superintendent Steve Baule said the district is looking into adding additional Early Childhood and First Start classes, as well as a bilingual kindergarten class for Spanish-speaking students by next year.

Early childhood/First Start
The district in recent years has seen an increase in students enrolling in both the Early Childhood and the First Start programs, Baule said. The former generally serves 3-to-5-year-old students with special needs, and the latter is for 3-to-4-year-old students identified as at risk of not being successful when they reach kindergarten.

“Four year ago, we had 10 early childhood students, now we have 20,” Baule said at the board meeting. Additionally, the district now has a waiting list for students to get into First Start.

In an e-mail interview, Baule said one reason for rising enrollment in the programs is that more children are getting tested before reaching kindergarten. Other factors could include economics, siblings with special needs and native language of the student, according to a district news release.

All Early Childhood and First Start programs are offered at Manning, Baule said, but where and when the additional class(es) would be held has yet to be determined.

Kindergarten
Because of the number of native Spanish-speaking students coming into District 201, Baule told Board of Education members that district staff is also looking at the possibility of providing a bilingual kindergarten class beginning next fall.

“We’re at the point at Miller (elementary) where we have reached a threshold of bilingual students,” Baule said.

The district is required to offer bilingual services when the number of students receiving ESL services from a single language reaches 19 students. Between both elementary schools, Baule said the district has nine students who speak Spanish as their first language.

Baule said that eligible students would attend kindergarten in the morning and then a bilingual session in the afternoon.

Parents would have the choice of whether to send their child to both sessions, but Baule said “I would think most parents would be interested in a program that improves their student’s readiness for school.”

As for cost and funding of the programs, Baule said it is too premature to know. However, the district is looking to share the costs with neighboring school districts whose early childhood programs also are near capacity.

“We have not yet addressed the cost of the programs,” he said. “That cannot be done until the scope of the program and the participation of other agencies is determined.”