Free Pre-K Doubles In Howell This Year With $2.3M State Grant

HOWELL, NJ — The school district will expand free pre-K education to 85 more students this year, part of a state initiative that recently awarded the Howell district $2,286,405 for the program, school officials said.

That will bring this year's enrollment to 165, and that is only the beginning, school officials said.

In what the schools superintendent described as a "defining moment" for the community, free, full-day pre-K will expand each year over five years to a total of 900 enrollment.

The expanded pre-K program begins Oct. 3.

The funding announcement earlier this month prompted an informational meeting here Sept. 13, led by Superintendent Joseph Isola and the Board of Education. Residents who did not attend can listen to the meeting on You Tube.

The funding is a boon to the district, Isola said at the meeting. It will enable more students previously unable to attend pre-school to access "quality pre-school, and enter kindergarten with the same readiness" as some of their peers.

He and his staff laid out some of the basics of the pre-school expansion program:

There will be a phase-in of pre-K students over five years. The district estimates the pre-K "universe," as the state refers to it, as up to 1,000 potential students, based on doubling the number of the last first grade population. It is doubled because there will be a year for 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds in the pre-K program, he said.

Here is the phase-in plan:

• Year 1: This year, there will be 165 students enrolled in the free, full-day pre-K, including the current enrollment of 80 students.
• Year 2: 300 students
• Year 3: 500 students
• Year 4: 700 students
• Year 5: 900 students

Currently enrolled students automatically have a seat in the program and do not need to reapply for another year. Refunds will be processed through the Business Office for payments already made, the district said in the presentation.

Isola said the district is working with the state Department of Education to develop the program and meet its eligibility requirements.

"We will build up to capacity," he said, adding that the first year is just the first step.

"This is a defining moment for the community," Isola said.

There are enrollment criteria to be met to get into the pre-K, he said, that have been established for Year 1:

• Priority 1: Students currently on the preschool waitlist and eligible for the Free and Reduced Meal Program.
• Priority 2: Students eligible for the Free and Reduced Meal Program.
• Priority 3: Students currently on the preschool waitlist and not eligible for the Free and Reduced Meal Program.
• Priority 4: All other applications.

The district gave an overview of Year 1:

• There will be all full-day programs, inclusive of lunch, play and rest time.
• There will be an attempt to locate pre-K students in their home school location, if possible.
• Parents only need to apply for a one-time acceptance.
• Student with IEPs (individual education plans) will be served in the program.

Regarding curriculum, it is an approved "Tools of the Mind," program, research based and play based. It will teach readiness skills, self-regulation, and literacy and math/science, school officials said.

Transportation will be available and the implementation of bus routes is currently being finalized.

There are also issues of before- and after-care that are will be expanded, particularly once the Police Athletic League (PAL) program is soon licensed for school-site care, Isola said.

In July 2022, the state Department of Education broadened the number of districts that could apply for Preschool Expansion Aid from those with 20 percent of students coming from lower-income families (defined by being eligible for free or reduced priced lunch) to districts with 10 percent of students who meet the income eligibility standards.

The state earlier this month announced grants totaling more than $26 million in Preschool Expansion Aid for 2022-2023 to 27 public school districts in the state, including Howell's grant. Other than West Long Branch, it was the only district approved in phase in Monmouth County - and with a large grant of $2.3 million.

Schools receiving the grants "demonstrated to DOE that they can provide a high-quality preschool program to enrolled students. A high-quality preschool program is defined by a full-day program with a certificated teacher, an aide, and small classes that are inclusive of children with special needs who have an individualized education program," Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement at the time the grants were announced.

“We know that providing children with access to preschool programs creates short and long term educational and economic benefits for families,” said Murphy.

His administration has the "eventual goal of providing universal preschool to every three- and four-year-old in New Jersey," Murphy's office said.

“When we invest in preschool education, we also invest in our youth and in the future success of the State of New Jersey for decades to come."