Early learning classes seek 80 kids

Jodi Wall is on a mission. Her goal is to find 80 low-income 3- to 4-year-old children in Clark County who would benefit from free, state-funded preschool instruction beginning in January. Ideally, the children would get one or two years before entering kindergarten.

Her deadline? Parents must enroll their children by Jan. 16. After that, the state’s Department of Early Learning will redistribute the slots to somewhere else in the state.

“We know this community needs these kinds of resources and services,” said Wall, director of Child Care and Early Learning at Educational Service District 112. “We’d hate to lose those slots.”

The Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program is funded by the state’s Department of Early Learning. The state funds 493 preschool slots for low-income children in the ESD 112 region in Clark, Pacific and Klickitat counties.

The 80 part-day preschool slots to be filled are in the Burton, Hough, Image, Minnehaha, Lincoln, YMCA and Nierenberg early learning centers in Vancouver and the Captain Strong Early Learning Center in Battle Ground.

The preschool classrooms are in the Vancouver, Evergreen and Battle Ground school district areas, but families do not have to live within the school district boundary. Eligible parents can choose which early learning center works best for them. Families might choose the center closest to home, work or the family’s childcare provider, Wall said.

Children are accepted into the program based on their age, family income and other developmental or environmental risk factors. To be eligible, a family’s income must be at or below 110 percent of the federal poverty level, which is an annual income of $17,523 for a family of two or $26,675 for a family of four.

The ECEAP program includes preschool instruction, developmental screenings and referrals, health and dental screenings, nutritious meals and snacks and kindergarten-readiness activities.

Robyn Ply said her son, Sovann Ply, 5 has progressed significantly in the preschool program since fall 2014.

“Prior to that, he was having speech issues. He was having a hard time communicating,” Ply said. “This program has helped him with his confidence, social skills, independence and mostly his speech. The teachers and staff are very supportive. He loves to go to school every day.”

Ply said she encourages parents of preschool-age children to find out whether their children qualify for the program.

“The criteria (for eligibility) can be tricky to get into, but it’s definitely worth their trying, and especially if they’re concerned about educational delays,” Ply said.

Wall of ESD 112 said the biggest obstacle in filling the preschool slots is “getting the word out, identifying the families who are eligible and giving that information to those families. Oftentimes, the best way to get the word out is word of mouth.”

“It would be sad to lose those preschool slots,” parent Ply said. “I think parents don’t know about the opportunity.”