Beacon's Universal Pre-K and Kindergarten Programs and Satellite Classrooms

Pre-Kindergarten used to be a concept that parents could sign their 3 and 4 year olds up for if there was a program run by a business or a church in their area. The hours were short, but the experience was invaluable to the child by way of reaching their spongy brains at an early age. These days, spreading across the nation is Universal Pre-Kindergarten which is a federally funded program recently encouraged by the Obama Administration by way of a $10 billion investment over 10 years in public preschool programs that states have to apply for. However, local school districts within those states need to also apply for the grant and be awarded, and not all districts in New York state have been awarded a grant. 

One little in-school assignment to learn numbers.

Beacon City School District is one such district that has offered the Universal Pre-K program to 4 year olds for a number of years for a half day of learning, either in a morning program or an afternoon group. In 2014, A total of $340 million was awarded to 81 school districts and Community Based Organizations in New York. In fact, Newburgh is the largest recipient of Pre-K funding outside of New York City. The reality of school as a form of child care is a real issue, and is becoming more recognized at the federal and state levels, especially with this passage of $794 million to "provide working families with affordable child care" by Governor Andrew Cuomo in August 2014.

SATELLITE CLASSROOMS OUTSIDE OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDINGS

Not as talked about is the participation of daycare or child care programs in Universal Pre-K, which offers a small price break for parents as well as a consistent day of coverage for the child. For five years, Rose Hill Manor on Wolcott Avenue has been a satellite classroom, offering half-day morning Pre-K  from 8:30-11:30am for free for those who enroll with the district and Rose Hill in time before their allotted seats fill up. This includes the paid option of a full day of "wrap around care" until 5:30pm which is especially good for parents who have difficulty getting their children from Pre-K or Kindergarten due to work or other obligations. This includes lunch, nap, snack and more structured play/learning time.  

As of 2014, Rose Hill has been the only center who year after year took on the requirements and paperwork required to offer the program. Astor Services for Children and Families had offered it  before the school district itself took it on, but has not offered it in recent years. Acceptance into the program means that a school must have a certified teacher on board, and must "meet or exceed" public school requirements, and weave these requirements into their own curriculum. Schools including the Randolf School, Hudson Hills, BCAP, Astor, or Kids Place do not offer the program, reasons usually being that the paperwork is too overwhelming, or that they don't want to be held to public requirements.
[UPDATE 1-21-16]: Cedar Street Daycare is also a satellite option for the 2016-2017 year, in addition to Rose Hill Manor. 

To get into a satellite program, parents must apply with the public school at the start of Pre-K registration, usually in February of each year, and tell the public school administrator that they intend to be in the program at a satellite school.

Images of heart-health with food choices and activities.

SNOW DAYS - CANCELLATIONS AND WEATHER DELAYS

A real issue for parents are snow days. The pattern in Beacon is to have a 2-hour delay of school or a cancellation entirely if snow falls on a school-night for the next day. Children enrolled in the morning program of Pre-K often have their day of school canceled if there is a 2-hour weather delay. Those enrolled in the afternoon program at their public school are not as impacted by the weather delays, but still miss school on an early dismissal or school closure.

A benefit of enrolling a child in the satellite program of a school like Rose Hill is that they operate as a business, and are open 95% of the time. So if school is closed, children enrolled in the full day wrap around care at Rose Hill are the only ones in town still going to school that day for a full day of engagement versus the alternative of Netflix, videos, and desperate Pinterest searches for crafty projects while a working parent's day of meetings and deadlines got cut like a paper snowflake.
Note: this option is only available to kids who are additionally enrolled in full time daycare with Rose Hill.

BUSING & GETTING KIDS TO SCHOOL

Another issue for working parents is busing. Beacon City Schools offers busing to kids who live 1.5 miles away from their elementary school. For Pre-K, this includes one-way transportation. For morning classes, students are transported to school; for afternoon classes, they are transportation home from school. Hudson Hills offers one-way transportation, as does Rose Hill. For kindergartners, for example, if parents need to be at work before the bus picks up from their house, they can drop kids off at Rose Hill, who then accepts bus-loads of "big kids" in their after-school program starting at 3:30pm.

The schedules of children is no joke, and fitting this in with grocery shopping and work schedules is a tricky puzzle figured out daily. Thanks to the growing number of families moving to this area, parents are experiencing a greater number of options for their priorities and budgets.