Spokane Public Schools adds more than 200 preschool places, but gaps remain

Spokane Public Schools are steadily expanding their early intervention programs, but have still not caught up with demand.

During a presentation to the school board on Wednesday evening, staff said that more than 200 additional preschool spots were added in various categories.

“However, there is no doubt that we still have many underserved children,” said Superintendent Adam Swinyard.

The decline in affordable childcare in Spokane has put additional pressure on school districts to fill the gap. It is estimated that the Spokane Public School county lines include approximately 1,500 4-year-olds who are eligible for free and discounted lunch, and most of them are in need of childcare.

Fortunately, with the upcoming move of sixth graders to middle school, some classrooms will become available for preschool.

“Our next step is to look for additional options,” said Becky Ramsey, district director of special education. “We work with accounting and capital project teams to grow and where we can grow.”

The district got off to a good start.

Last year, 336 preschool places were offered, of which 168 were for children with developmental disabilities, a further 120 through the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) and 48 through Head Start.

This year the district offers 538 places. 108 of them are for the whole day. The district has also added 40 traditional kindergarten places.

The workforce had increased proportionally from 47 last year to 71, and hiring staff wasn’t a huge problem, Ramsey said.

Aside from parapedagogues, filling new positions wasn’t a big problem, Ramsey said.

The district offers four programs this year:

  • Developmental AM / PM preschool for students with individualized curricula delivered in three-hour sessions four days a week at Frances Scott, Linwood, Madison and Stevens Elementary Schools.
  • ECEAP / Head Start Preschool on the same schedule for those who qualify on income and “risk factors” at Scott, Holmes, Linwood, Regal, Roosevelt, Stevens and Whitman elementary schools and two community centers.
  • ECEAP Preschool, a four-day offering for 6½ hours per day at Grant, Lincoln Heights, Logan, Regal and Whitman Elementary Schools.
  • Transitional Kindergarten, a government-funded pilot program this year starting in January, five days a week for 6½ hours a day at Holmes and Woodridge Elementary Schools.

“This is about giving them the best opportunities in life,” said Karin Thompson, district elementary school curriculum director.

The programs are believed to be critical to building pre-school readiness, a chronic problem in Spokane.

Partly due to the lack of preschool education, Spokane’s kindergarten readiness in 2019 was only 32.8%, or about 20 percentage points, below schools in West Washington.

The readiness to attend kindergarten is also significantly higher in the school districts of Central Valley (64.7%), Cheney (56.3%), East Valley (40.4%) and Mead (48.1%) than in Spokane.

ECEAP offers eligible 3 and 4 year old children and their families free comprehensive preschool, health and family services. The aim is to help the children to be successful when they enter kindergarten. ECEAP programs are offered across Spokane County.

Head Start provides free comprehensive preschool, health and family services to eligible children and their low-income families. Head start programs are available in many locations in the Spokane metropolitan area.

Special education preschools are located throughout the district and have eligibility students aged 3 to 5 years.

Spokane Public Schools’ pre-school programs are taught by certified pre-school special education teachers.