Pre-K program keeps growing!
Ms. Anderson’s pre-kindergartners at Johnson Elementary take a tour of the Fire Department last year.
Their feet may not touch the floor as they sit at their desks, but the newest students in the Franklin Special School District come to school ready to learn.
They are the 4-year-old pre-kindergartners whose ranks have grown this year by 30 students to 137. The additional students are thanks, in large part, to the state’s allocation of lottery proceeds as well as a $37,000 local funding match from United Way of Williamson County.
This year the FSSD received funds for two new prekindergarten classes, giving the district a total of 11. This provides at least one pre-K classroom for each elementary school, as well as one at the Community Child Care Center and two therapeutic classrooms. All of the students are tested and must have a language delay of at least four months to be considered for the pre-kindergarten program.
With the therapeutic classrooms, the FSSD is also able to meet the needs of students who have been referred to the program by doctors, private preschools, or concerned parents. These classes are smaller and serve students who have conduct disorders that need to be addressed in a smaller class setting before they are transitioned back to their regular preschool or move on to kindergarten.
The FSSD is a strong proponent of pre-kindergarten and has 15 years of data to back up its program. Local research shows that those children who attended pre-kindergarten in the FSSD made large gains on their TCAP tests and scored as well as their peers across the state and well above the national average.
For more information on the FSSD prekindergarten program, contact Instructional Facilitator for Early Childhood, Connie McKee, at 615.591.2802.
