Townsend Schools Will Likely Add Pre-kindergarten For 4-, 5-year-olds
 | Author:
Linda Kent, MT43 News Staff Reporter
MT43 News Correspondent |
Townsend Schools May Add Pre-K
Linda Kent
MT43 News Staff Reporter
Townsend Schools is poised to offer early intervention pre-kindergarten to area four- and five-year-olds for the 2024-25 school year.
“Space, capacity and dollars are my concerns,” Board Chairman Jason Noyes said at the April 29 meeting where the program was proposed. “I don’t know what we do if we run out of space or have to hire more teachers.”
The program will take advantage of funds made available through House Bill 352, adopted by the Montana Legislature in 2023, Superintendent Susie Hedalen and Elementary Principal Christina Hartmann explained. The bill provides funding for early intervention programs for 4- and 5-year-olds who are not ready for Kindergarten and who would benefit from additional, early support to be on track to read by third grade. That covers the cost of additional staff and program operations.
Hedalen also said the district will use the last of its Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) money to pay for the standardized assessment used to determine if students qualify for the program as well as for state-aligned curriculum materials.
Learning will emphasize language, literacy, communication, and pre-reading skills.
What exactly the pre-K day will look like will depend on the total number of students enrolled. If student numbers are around 18 or lower, classes will be held four days a week from 8 a.m. to 3:18 p.m. Larger student numbers, up to 36, would be enrolled two days a week. Parents would have the option with either schedule of having students attend only a half day.
Students enrolled in the program would also be able to access lunch and breakfast at school, as well as busing and the school’s after-school and fifth-day programs.
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PhotoCredit: Photo Credits: Linda Kent
Image 1 Caption: Townsend Elementary Kindergarten teacher Diana Kirkpatrick works with a four-year-old in an early intervention screening program
Photo Credits: Linda Kent
