McWhirter revives full-day pre-K program

Grant allows elementary in Clear Creek ISD to hire teachers, paraprofessionals

A state grant will enable Clear Creek ISD to expand prekindergarten classes in the fall at McWhirter Elementary School, reviving the only fullday pre-K education program in the district.

The $275,862 grant from the Texas Education Agency allows the school, at 300 Pennsylvania in Webster, to hire three additional teachers and a handful of paraprofessionals to essentially double its prekindergarten staff and extend its four pre-K classes to fullday sessions.

“Parents are excited to come back and get their kids into the school,” Principal Michael Marquez said. “We’ve gotten numerous phone calls from parents who aren’t zoned to our school seeking to attend the extended-day program.”

McWhirter has a high percentage of families that would qualify for prekindergarten but had to cut a full-day program to half day after the 2008 recession led to cuts in school funding.

The number of prekindergarten teachers was slashed from 10 to four and scaling back to half-day sessions meant fewer students because many families couldn’t juggle picking up children in the mid-

dle of the day. The number of prekindergarten students, once 130, dropped by more than half.

Today, the school has about 114.

The grant gives CCISD its first and only full-day prekindergarten program back. The district offers half-day programs at 19 of its 26 elementary campuses.

Under the half-day schedule, the first pre-K session lasted from 8-11 a.m., with a different session beginning at 12:15 p.m. and ending at 3:15 p.m. Now, the full class day will begin at 8:15 a.m. and end at 2:15 p.m.

McWhirter was selected to receive funding because the school serves the largest number of economically disadvantaged and English language-learning students in the district, Marquez said.

While funding through the grant only lasts for the upcoming school year, district officials are hopeful state funding will continue to be provided in the following school years.

“Expanded pre-K benefits the whole community,” Marquez said. “The earliest intervention that can happen only benefits our kids.

“They come in and learn a lot of social skills, how to be a friend and a partner, how to be patient, but also learning sounds, letters, shapes, objects and colors,” he said. “You start to see a ripple effect in the expectations of the children. If they come into kindergarten stronger, teachers can do more with them, then they leave stronger for first grade.”

Marnie Glaser, director of early learning at the TEA, said quality pre-K education provides an opportunity to capitalize on a young child’s natural curiosity and inclination to learn.

“There has been a considerable amount of research produced over the last 30-plus years demonstrating the benefits of high-quality full-day prekindergarten,” she said, adding it “is our greatest opportunity to improve outcomes across our educational system.”

The timing of grant funding comes as new classroom spaces will be available at McWhirter — which has more than 800 students — through a 2013 bond package, he said.

To participate in the McWhirter prekindergarten program, students must be 4 years old and live in the school’s attendance zone and meet the state eligibility requirements, which include being economically disadvantaged, homeless, an English language learner or children of parents on active military duty.

Children who are English language-learners zoned to Whitcomb Elementary School are also eligible.

Students who don’t meet these requirements must follow standard district transfer guidelines and may be admitted as space permits. Parents can contact the district’s early childhood education department at 281-284-0330 or at PK@ccisd.net to learn more about prekindergarten options and admission.

Clear Creek’s plans for boosting pre-K programs through the grant are similar to other Houston-area districts such as Spring and Pasadena.

In Pasadena ISD, a $783,379 grant provides funding for 20 additional full-day pre-kindergarten classrooms in the fall across the district. That equates to classroom space for more 440 pre-K students, adding to the 2,300 enrolled last year.

“Emphasis on prekindergarten education has been on the rise in the last few years, and we are proud to offer more opportunities to the children of Pasadena,” said Karen Hickman, the district’s deputy superintendent of campus development.

The funding will also provide teachers and paraprofessionals for each additional classroom, instructional materials and professional development training for all Pre-K teachers.

Marquez wants to develop workshops that help foster parental involvement and teach parents how to better help their children at home.

“It’s about helping students get a head start,” he said.