Coast school district wants to offer universal pre-K in $4 million plan. What to know.
Among the multiple projects proposed in the Bay-Waveland school district bond is the construction of a new pre-Kindergarten education facility and playground at Waveland Elementary.
About $4 million is earmarked to be spent on the pre-K area.
“Students that attend pre-K are much more prepared for kindergarten,” said Robin Craft, a kindergarten teacher at Waveland Elementary who has a mix of students that attended pre-K and those that didn’t. “Most of the students that came out of the pre-K program are already reading at an emergent or fluent level.”
Children’s reading abilities are only one of the benefits Craft says she has observed of students that attended pre-K.
“They also have a sense of family and take care of one another,” she said. “They aren’t just here for themselves ... they are here to help one another learn. Which to me is a form of leadership.”
Currently, Waveland Elementary offers pre-K, but the demand exceeds the school’s capacity. They have three classes of 20 students each, but there is a waiting list to get in often around 20 students long. Classes are capped at 20 students each.
The application process for next year’s pre-K enrollment has already opened and Waveland elementary principal Joann Mestayer anticipates a waiting list.
“We have 220 students in the community that are eligible for pre-K and at this point we can only serve 60,” she said. “If we add classrooms, we can reach all the pre-K eligible kids in the community.”
Pre-K education has been a hot topic, not just in the Bay-Waveland school district, but nationally with politicians proposing bills that would make education for 3- and 4-year-olds universally available countrywide.
If the Bay-Waveland school district’s bond passes, Waveland Elementary would get an new wing to meet capacity for all students.
Some have the perception that pre-K school is just daycare, but educators bristle at this idea. Pre-K has curriculum that adheres to state guidelines and is fully designed to be educational.
“It is hands on sensory learning,” said Tara Scott, the special education pre-K coordinator at Waveland Elementary. “We have our 3- and 4-year-old learning standards that we follow. We are held accountable for their readiness and it is pretty rigorous in that we make sure their standards are met.”
Not everyone is convinced pre-K is necessary, though.
“I am against pre-K three and four because it is not mandated by the state of Mississippi,” said Ron Thorp, 77, a retired resident who has been a vocal advocate of voting no on the bond.
Thorp is concerned that the bond would disproportionately impact individuals who own multiple homes because it is a tax on homeowners.
“We recognize that there are limitations to resources available in our community,” Mestayer said. “We truly recognize the benefits of our pre-K program and we would love nothing more than to meet all the eligible students in our community.”
