Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana

School district offering kindergarten readiness program

Enrollment is now open for the new Kindergarten Readiness Program in Whitehall.

The program is for children who are at least four years old by September 10 and will take place during the week from 12:10 p.m. to 3:10 p.m.

Whitehall Superintendent Hannah Nieskens said the district is excited to offer another kindergarten readiness opportunity in the community.

"Head Start and private preschools have caps on enrollment, so there are some kids in Whitehall who don't get the opportunity to attend a preschool before kindergarten. We hope that the Whitehall Schools kindergarten readiness class will allow more kids to attend a preschool program," she said.

The district has also coordinated with Head Start, and according to Nieskens, if a child qualifies for both programs, they may attend Head Start in the morning and Whitehall Schools kindergarten readiness class in the afternoon.

She added they are also offering in 2020-21 Pre-K and Kindergarten remote learning options for families who choose to keep their kids at home.

The program is being funded through the Montana Comprehensive Literacy State Development Project (MCLSDP) grant.

In June the district was notified they had been awarded the grant and would receive about $1.5 million over the next five years.

In October of 2019, Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen announced that Montana had received a five-year, $50 million Striving Readers Comprehensive State Development Program literacy grant through the U.S. Department of Education. The Montana Comprehensive Literacy State Development Project (MCLSDP) awards competitive subgrants to eligible districts to advance literacy skills using evidence-based practices, strategies, and interventions for all children, preschool to grade 12, with an emphasis on disadvantaged children.

The Whitehall grant money will help pay for staffing for a future preschool program, allow the district to purchase the best instructional programs and interventions for all levels PK-12, and provide high-quality professional development for staff.

The Whitehall program will be capped at 16 students and enrollment preference will be based upon home district, age, and exceptional circumstances.

Online enrollment forms can be found at http://www.whitehallschools.org.

For more information, please contact Elementary Principal Kurtis Koenig at kkoenig@whitehallmt.org or by phone at 406-287-3882.

 

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