MANCHESTER – It was a very special first day of school for dozens of children who are receiving free preschool education thanks to state funding.
Superintendent John Berenato noted that this was a School District milestone and the big event featured family members and elected officials who came by to welcome the young students and their parents.
The multiphase Universal Preschool program rolls out a new preschool option to Manchester families thanks to $3 million in Preschool Expansion AID (PEA) that was awarded to the school district last month from the state.
This program provides Manchester families with integrated preschool classroom offerings for three and four-year-old students. The PEA allows the School District to offer an expanded academic based preschool program to residents at no additional cost to taxpayers.
There will be no expiration of these funds because this aid expands as the preschool enrollment increases, officials said. The Universal Preschool Program is currently offered at all three elementary schools as well as at two partner nursery school sites located in Manchester.
Berenato said, “we excitedly welcomed our new Universal Preschool students and their families to the Whiting School for the first time. Much preparation went into (the) Universal Preschool Program launch thanks to the support of our Board of Education as well as a dedicated team of school district staff who worked hard to quickly turn around the program after only being notified of approval of the Aid just a few short weeks ago.
“We are proud to be able to offer this Universal Preschool Program to the Manchester community and look forward to a wonderful school experience for current and future Manchester preschool students,” he added.
The Universal Preschool Program offers up to 135 of Manchester’s youngest students a creative, high-quality preschool experience across five Township locations. The program will be housed at the Whiting School with a total of six preschool classrooms, Manchester Township Elementary School, where there will be one integrated preschool classroom, and Ridgeway Elementary School, where there will be two preschool classrooms.
Two partner schools, Hilltop Nursery School and As We Grow, will offer up to five integrative preschool classrooms collectively. This preschool program will expand over a five-year period to eventually be able to offer programming to all district three- and four-year-old students.
The same amenities are being offered to all students in the school district such as transportation to and from school as well as cafeteria options. The preschool program will follow the same calendar as all other Manchester schools, with the program running daily from 9:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.
In mid-September, Phase 1 of the township’s Universal Preschool Program began right after the district received the state grant. A meeting for interested parents led into the registration phase where parents participated in a preschool lottery.
Phase 1A of the preschool program started with 60 students joining the Whiting School. Phase 1B will roll out on October 17 with an additional three classrooms with space for up to 45 students at Hilltop Nursery School.
There are plans next month to roll out Phase 2 for two additional classrooms at off-site locations for up to 30 additional students. All students who are accepted into the three-year-old preschool program will then be automatically enrolled and registered for the four-year-old preschool program the following year as long as they maintain residency in Manchester.
For further information concerning the program, phases and dates for registration and acceptance notification visit the school district’s website at manchestertwp.org/resources/registration.
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