- November 18, 2024
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Free, voluntary pre-kindergarten classes help prepare kids for school, but there’s a catch: What if the parents work, and there’s no one to watch little Johnny in the hours that wrap around the classroom time?
As many as 200-300 4-year-olds in the county could be taking advantage of free VPK, but aren’t, according to Superintendent Jacob Oliva. And so, as all five elementary schools in Flagler County add VPK in 2014-15, they will also offer “wrap-around” care.
For $65 per week, families can now allow their 4-year-olds to stay at their classrooms from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays during the school year. The School Board approved the $65 — a $5 increase — at its April 1 meeting.
Flagler Schools Finance Director Patty Womeck said wrap-around care is less structured than class time, but it’s still instructional. Oliva noted that it's not simply "child care."
Funding for VPK comes from the state, via the Volusia Flagler Early Learning Coalition. But those funds don’t cover wrap-around care, so parents are asked to chip in. The funds cover teachers, furniture and other supplies, and without the $5 increase, Womeck was projecting a small deficit for the year for the program.
School Board member John Fischer was concerned about how the $65 weekly fee compared to other wrap-around equivalents offered by private VPK providers. Womeck said they ranged from $55 per week to $125, with an average of about $80. Fischer was satisfied and added that attending VPK at the child's home school gives the added benefit of "continuance," to help with the transition to kindergarten.
“Families that have children in a childcare program and are happy there, continue there,” Oliva said. “We applaud them. We’re happy they found a place. But we’re still finding too many children who aren’t in a structured program. We know we can help them.”
