BELC, Baxter CSD team-up to expand 3-year-old preschool program

BAXTER – “I don’t want to go bye-bye,” 2-year-old Gracee Garr said to her parents.

Filled with excitement, cookies and a little bit of sand, many toddlers, including Gracee, who turns 3 years old in July, came out to play at Baxter Early Learning Center’s open house event May 4.

The event was held to promote the facility’s 3-year-old preschool program, which will expand to a room in Baxter Community School this upcoming school year.

“This was the first year we did just offer 3-year-old preschool. It was all-day, day care before,” BELC director Tiffany Finch said. “There was a need. We were full in our room here. We couldn’t accept any more children ... We would have only been able to have a max of 12 here, where we could take many more than that.”

Baxter CSD school board approved BELC’s 28E agreement April 18 during its scheduled monthly meeting after the early learning facility informed the district of its need for space for the 2017-18 school year. According to BCSD superintendent Todd Martin, this agreement allows the school to rent space to the center.

“We had the discussion about the additional room and the board was very amenable to going ahead and allowing that to happen and renting that room for a very minimal cost,” he said. “We certainly wanted to do everything we could to accommodate (BELC) and said we would do everything we could to find the extra space.”

According to Martin, one of the grade levels at the school has a one-section class, which leaves one room available. He said after some shifting around, the school was able to rent out a space for the 3-year-old preschool program this upcoming school year.

“We want to add on (to the facility), but we knew it wouldn’t be done by fall. We had a waiting list of 15 kids for August (for the entire facility),” Finch said. “We are affecting these children at age 3 now, not waiting until they are 5 or 6 to start kindergarten. We support our school. We want these children to grow ... They are just that much ahead now.”

Parents who attended Thursday’s open house event said they want to enroll their children into the center because it would allow them to socialize with other kids and begin forming long-lasting relationships.

“(My daughter) hasn’t had much socialization with other kids because we live out of town on a farm ... We don’t plan on moving, so these are the kids that she will be going to school with for the next 15 years,” Gracee’s father, Walter Garr said. “My parents both went to school here and (my wife’s) parents graduated from Baxter. The fact that she could possibly have classes in my old high school is pretty cool ... We never really thought about going anywhere else.”

With 100 students open enrolled into Baxter Community School District for the 2016-17 school year, the superintendent said there is potential to attract more kids from outside the district to enroll by expanding the 3-year-old preschool program at BELC.

“Once they come into our building, once they come to our community, they typically want to attend Baxter schools,” Martin said. “That has a positive impact on our school enrollment. We get quite a few kindergartners that do choose us through that preschool program. That is why we want to keep this relationship really strong.”

BELC’s school year will begin Aug. 29. The director said the center will be accepting students throughout the year until they reach their maximum enrollment, which is 16 kids per class, with an overall enrollment of 32 students. The child must be 3 years old by Sept. 15 to enroll in its 3-year-old preschool program.

The program costs $25 a week for two morning sessions from 8 to 11 a.m. Parents can choose to sign up their children either for classes on Tuesday and Thursday or Wednesday and Friday.

“They are learning in an environment that is so fun. They get to be with their friends. They get to experience things they would not be able to experience at home,” Finch said. “They are growing a lot in just that year.”

The facility also offers a 4-year-old preschool program. According to the director, the center has been offering this service for about seven years. The class size for that program is restricted to 20 kids per class, for a total of 40 students.

For more information, call 641-227-3811 or find Baxter Early Learning Center on Facebook.

Contact Anthony Victor Reyes at areyes@jaspercountytribune.com