What pre-K options are available for Savannah-Chatham County students?
The Savannah Morning News is committed to helping Chatham County families navigate the various schooling options available to them. This article is part of those ongoing efforts and includes updates on SCCPSS kindergarten orientation and pre-K options for those still searching.
Just over a month ago, hundreds of families in Savannah-Chatham County completed their Choice School applications for Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS) pre-K, kindergarten and choice schools.
SCCPSS sent the Notification of Lottery Eligibility on Thursday, Feb. 29 to choice program applicants. Pre-K students were not sent a notice because the only eligibility requirements are that the child must be 4 years old on or before Sept. 1 of the applying year and they must be a resident of Chatham County.
SCCPSS sets kindergarten orientation
Parents interested in Kindergarten Orientation can attend a session at any one of the elementary or K8 sites (except for A.B. Williams and Shuman Elementary schools) from 9:30-10:30 a.m. on March 27.
The district stated that orientation provides students with the “opportunity to visit a kindergarten classroom and participate in activities that will help them feel comfortable about starting school.” The message also stated school staff will conduct parent information sessions on registration and preparing children for school as well as expectations of the SCCPSS Kindergarten Program.
Families are encouraged to contact the elementary school or K-8 school where their child will be attending pre-K. Families can review further registration information and school attendance zones on the SCCPSS School Registration page of the district's website.
New 2024-25 pre-K opportunity in Chatham County
Savannah Classical Academy (SCA) has announced that it will offer a pre-K program starting Aug. 1, the beginning of the 2024-25 academic school year. The program is not part of the state's lottery funded programs, so it will cost families $175 per week. The program doesn't offer scholarships, but the SCA Foundation, a non-profit separate from the school but with the mission of supporting it financially, has launched campaigns focused on reducing costs associated with the program. SCA's CEO Barry Lollis envisions future scholarship opportunities as the program develops beyond its first year.
He also explained on a recent tour that the choice to have SCA's pre-K remain independent from the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning's (DECAL) Bright From the Start program is about instructional flexibility. “It's almost a very scripted program that comes with a whole bunch of parameters,” he said. He acknowledged that many are “good” parameters but said there is virtually no room to differentiate instruction between children who might be at different stages of learning development.
Lollis did mention that the SCA pre-K program is not yet able to provide auxiliary student services, such as speech therapy or visual impairment services. He assured that if families still wanted to attend SCA's pre-K program and their student required auxiliary services then the school would work with families to locate community resources.
The program is open to all Chatham County residents. There is a $50 application fee. With roughly 12 applicants so far, the program is still accepting applications for its 20-25 available slots. Lollis is leaning toward 20 for the first year as the class settles into a newly renovated room on the first floor of SCA. The renovations are nearly complete and the school's new art teacher, Anna Truax, has been adding some flare to the walls. Lollis also noted that the program will have a certified pre-K teacher and assistant.
Other pre-K options still available
In addition to the new SCA program, SCCPSS offers 65 Georgia Lottery Funded pre-K classes. The application process for those programs closed on Feb. 9, but families can apply for the Pre-Kindergarten Lottery Waitlist starting March 15.
SCA's fellow charter school Coastal Empire Montessori Charter School (CEMCS) also offers pre-K. Unlike SCA, CEMCS's program is a lottery-funded Bright from the Start pre-K that is part of the school's Primary Program. The CEMCS pre-K offering can accommodate 20 students. The school's Executive Director Stephani Babcock said the preschool “is incorporated into our Primary level to create three multi-age classrooms of 4 and 5-year-olds.” The school has received approximately 70 applications for the 2024-25 school year and is still accepting applications prior to April 11, when it will hold its schoolwide random-draw lottery.
CEMCS asserts on its website that its curriculum “aligns the Montessori Method and Philosophy with the Georgia Standards of Excellence to ensure that students are presented with and mastering the expected state standards, within the Montessori Method.”
Head Start and Early Head Start
Another option for families is Georgia's Head Start and Early Head Start programs, which is managed in Savannah through the Economic Opportunity Authority for Savannah Chatham County Area, Inc. The programs provide services to children 6 weeks to 4 years of age. Families need to make in-person appointments (9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Monday – Thursday) to complete the application process. Families should contact Earikka Brown-Outland at earikkab@eoasga.org or (912) 238-2960 Ext. 174 for more information.
EOA Head Start/Early Head Start Director Alycia Brown said, “We currently have five available locations Annex (618 West Anderson St.), Jones Hall (618 West Anderson St.), Aaron Buchsbaum Learning Center (1120 May St.), Cooper Center (700 Davis Ave.), and the Kingdom Life Center (425 West Montgomery Cross Road).” She shared that the programs have a total of 327 enrollment slots for 2024-25.
New Enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year begins Monday, March 2, and applications can be completed yearround. Families must meet certain eligibility criteria. Although the programs are federally funded, they are offered through DECAL.
Does Georgia offer universal pre-K?
While Georgia's pre-K is voluntary, not compulsory, the state claims to offer universal pre-K according to a statement from DECAL's Chief Communications Officer Reg Griffin. He referred to the Alliance for Early Success's definition of universal pre-k as “a policy framework that ensures any family who wants to enroll their preschool-aged child in a publicly funded, pre-kindergarten care and education program has the opportunity to make that choice. Such programs provide early care and education the year before children enter kindergarten, although some also serve 3-year-olds. There are a variety of funding mechanisms — federal, state, and local — that can make universal pre-k a reality.”
Griffin went on to share that "Georgia's Pre-K Program is offered in all 159 counties to any child who resides in the state and has their fourth birthday prior to Sept. 1." He said that wait lists do not prevent families from enrolling in programs in neighboring counties or closer to where parents, or other family members, work.
The pre-K program is funded by the state lottery. Since that funding fluctuates, the available financial resources vary each year. That fact coupled with the fact that many districts, including SCCPSS, have a limited number of programs and thus available spots, waitlists are common among the 65 lottery-funded programs provided by SCCPSS. Griffin said that DECAL's latest numbers show 72,000 children enrolled in statefunded pre-K throughout Georgia with a waitlist of around 3300.
The state's proposed House Bill 173 would have changed that through an amendment of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated “to provide for mandatory pre-kindergarten and kindergarten for all children prior to entering first grade.” The proposed legislation called for lowering “the age of compulsory school attendance from six years old to four years old.” What it did not mention was where the additional funding would come from to cover costs associated with expanding programs across the state to provide available spots to those 4-year-olds. The bill appears to not have made the crossover cut during this state legislative session but could by spliced into another bill at a later date.
Back on Nov. 7, 2023, during a legislative breakfast at Isle of Hope K-8 School, SCCPSS school board members shared a list of desired legislative measures with the area's state representatives. The reps who attended were Derek Mallow (District 2 senator), Ben Watson (District 1 senator), Edna Jackson (District 165 representative) and Anne Westbrook (District 163 representative). One of the measures presented by the school board members was adjusting the state's compulsory age requirement. Their reasoning for the request was that the district's data consistently showed that students who attend pre-K performed significantly better in kindergarten and beyond than those students who do not attend pre-K.
An article that appeared in EdWeek last year explains the challenges preventing Georgia from being able to offer truly universal pre-K. The article cites ongoing research conducted by the National Institute for Early Education Research which, as the article notes, “considers a [state] program with 70 percent of 4-year-olds enrolled to have universal status. Only the District of Columbia and a handful of states—Florida, Oklahoma, Vermont, and Wisconsin—met that benchmark in the 2019-20 school year, the last year of data available that wasn't impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Although Georgia has a universal pre-K policy, the NIEER report based on 2020 data shows that only 59% of eligible students were enrolled in pre-K programs.
Joseph Schwartzburt is the education and workforce development reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at JSchwartzburt@gannett.com.