TRAVERSE CITY -- Successful preschool programs in Traverse City's schools should have multiple curriculum options for parents and prepare students for an easy transition into kindergarten, administrators said.
Those ideas are among the goals for the district's early childhood programs, which cater to students from infancy to 5 years old.
Early childhood administrators Monday presented an overview to school board members of the programs, from their origins as child care to the several distinct options that exist today.
Board members Gerald Morris, Dave Barr and Alice McNally were absent.
The district this year has such options as tuition-based preschool for 3- to 5-year-olds, a free readiness program beginning at birth and the state-funded Ready "Four" School Program for 4-year-old students who meet certain eligibility criteria.
The preschool curriculum uses a child's playtime as a way to explore such concepts as literacy and mathematics, said Angela Sides, the district's director of early childhood and special education.
"Kids are learning how to give and take and share," she said. "It's coming about in a really natural way."
Administrators track preschool students in their specific programs in order to see how they perform in later grades, said Jame McCall, executive director of elementary and special education.
Preschool has become a hot topic in education, particularly as students begin to grapple with stricter state standards beginning in elementary school.
The issue even has entered the national stage. Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain each have plans for early-childhood education if elected.
"Early childhood's always been important," McCall said. "People are just starting to notice how big an issue it is."
A total of 2,100 students were in some district program as of Sept. 18, according to district data. Roughly 180 are in traditional preschool, and about 200 are in kindergarten enrichment.
Two programs were cut by the start of the school year -- Chinese immersion preschool at Traverse Heights Elementary and Young Fives at Long Lake Elementary.
Board member Megan Crandall asked administrators Monday why the programs were cut, after both received initial publicity.
Enrollment was low, McCall and Sides said, and it didn't help that there was no elementary Chinese program or central location for Young Fives.
The Long Lake program since has become a tuition-based preschool class with six students.
But, McCall said, that preschool class will stay open. The district also has three schools with waiting lists, including nearby Westwoods and Willow Hill.
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