Enrollment Begins for Preschool 4 Kids Program

(KNSI) – Enrollment is underway for a new preschool program in St. Cloud.

St. Cloud Area School District 742, the Rotary Club of St. Cloud and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Minnesota are partnering up to offer Preschool 4 Success, a full-day preschool program that will host 60 students.

Rotarian Gary Marsden spoke with KNSI’s Bob Hughes and said the members of the Rotary Club wanted to get involved after learning that, across Minnesota, about 35,000 preschool-age children don’t have the opportunity to attend those programs.

“That affects their kindergarten readiness and, obviously, their future school performance,” Marsden said. “So we chatted with 742 and said ‘Can we help?’ and they said ‘Absolutely.’ There’s about 150 to 200 kids in the St. Cloud area that were not able to go to preschool last year because of facilities and funding, so that’s where we stepped in.”

With two classroom spaces provided for no cost at the Boys & Girls Clubs’ Southside and Roosevelt locations, Marsden says Preschool 4 Success has hired two teachers and two paraprofessionals for the program.

“We’re working through the transportation issues right now and acquiring the materials and actual desks and all that for these four-year-olds to participate,” Marsden said.

Marsden says each classroom will host 30 students.

“That’ll be 60 kids total hopefully that will get an opportunity to go that didn’t have that opportunity before,” Marsden said.

Interested parents and guardians should enroll preschoolers through District 742.

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