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Riverside Board of Education members had the chance at their Tuesday evening meeting to take a look at the learning space utilized for the littlest of learners, ages 3-5, through the Head Start preschool program that was brought back to school grounds this school year.
The Council on Rural Services offers the preschool class to approximately 20 students in a modular building near the main school building and assumes all costs and staffing of the program. The modular facility even has its own electric meter.
The program had been offered on district grounds in previous years, but more recently had been hosted by the DeGraff United Methodist Church.
“Thanks for inviting us back,” said Dan Schwanitz, Council on Rural Services chief executive officer, to board of education members. “The arrangement is working out very well for our staff and students.
“Based on the program here at Riverside, we’re now in discussion with two other local schools districts about expanding the preschool program to those locations next year.”
CORS representatives are currently working out the details of offering the federal program at both Benjamin Logan and Indian Lake schools next school year, as previously reported in the Examiner. The preschool serves low-to-moderate income families, along with students who have been diagnosed with special needs.
Molli Bell, head teacher for the Riverside preschool site, led a tour of the modular building, which includes a regular classroom space, along with a resource room, where pupils have space to spread out and engage in all kinds of movement activities, she said. Office space for teaching staff also is incorporated into the building.
The regular classroom features a number of learning stations, from dramatic play to technology with computers and iPads, writing and reading areas, sensory play and many other activities.
“My heart is invested in this community, starting very young,” she said.
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ABOVE: Molli Bell, right, head preschool teacher for the Head Start program at Riverside Schools, shows board of education members and administrators the various areas inside the classroom of the modular building on school grounds that houses the preschool program for ages 3-5. HOME PAGE SLIDE SHOW PHOTO:A modular building on the Riverside Schools grounds houses a Head Start preschool program operated by the Council on Rural Services. (EXAMINER PHOTOS | MANDY LOEHR) |
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