CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Kanawha County Schools have opened enrollment for 2024-25 preschool program.
Johnny Ferrara, the Kanawha County Schools Preschool ERSEA Specialist and Jennifer Lilly, KCS Social Worker discussed the preschool program with Dave Allen on 580Live.
The preschool provides free education to children aged four on or before June30, 2025.
“If your child turns 4 on July 1st 2025, they do not qualify for pre school in West Virginia, unless there is a developmental delay. That date is very important.” said Ferrara.
Along with no education cost, they also provide transportation, state-approved curriculum, breakfast, lunch, a snack and small class sizes.
Since there are no attendance areas in pre schools parents can choose a pre school closer to where they work.
“If you work in downtown Charleston and you live in Culloden it may be more beneficial to find a location in downtown Charleston for pre school than having to fight to get back to Culloden by 2:15pm or so forth.” said Ferrara.
They discussed the collaborative sites in detail. Collaborative sites offer aftercare to students throughout Kanawha County.
“I would encourage families to really think about their needs, and if they need aftercare, apply to one our collaborative sites in Kanawha County.” said Ferrara.
The aftercare will not be free and the fee can be worked out with the collaborative site.
Since Covid, the number of students enrolled in public schools has declined. However, the number of students in Kanawha county pre schools have remained steady since Covid.
“We are not seeing the trends other grade levels and or, counties and so forth are seeing and we are very fortunate for that.” said Ferrara.
“The sooner you do the application the better the chances of getting your first choice of pre school.” said Lilly.
Parents and legal guardians can now enroll their children online on their website or reach out to the preschool office for assistance with registrations. The registration opens on Feb. 3.
Story by Ananya Rautela