The 4-year-old boy with dark gel-spiked bangs sat on the floor with tears streaming down his face, inconsolable.
Thursday was the first day of prekindergarten at Park Lane Early Childhood Center in Broken Arrow - and he wasn't having it.
"This morning, we had some tears. I had some mommas crying. But most of the kids are fine now," said Principal Barbara Jones, smiling as a teacher calmed the boy by singing to him.
"It's been a little crazy," said teacher assistant Andrea Dement as she supervised students at the playground. "There were some tears. Some of these kids you can tell haven't been in a school or day care setting."
With the opening this year of Park Lane and two other new early childhood centers, Broken Arrow Public Schools has seen explosive growth in its pre-K program - from 191 students enrolled last year to 1,100 this year, said Janet Dunlop, assistant superintendent of instructional services.
"We weren't expecting that many. But it's a great problem to have," she said.
This is the district's first year to offer a full-day program and to have the necessary space. Park Lane, Aspen Creek and Creekwood early childhood centers opened this year. Construction is underway to transform the former Arrow Springs Elementary into a fourth center next year.
"This is a great attractor for parents - a free, all-day pre-K program that's highly educational and prepares (kids) to get started on the right foot," Dunlop said.
Research has shown that young children of all racial and income groups who participate in high-quality pre-K programs enter school more ready to learn and score higher on math and reading tests later.
The Broken Arrow district selected its new pre-K curriculum with that in mind, Dunlop said.
"It fits the philosophy of what Broken Arrow is all about. We are about academics, but we also are about developing the whole child," she said.
The curriculum, called HighScope, also focuses on teaching kids to be independent thinkers, to ask questions and to be good citizens and stewards of their community, Dunlop said.
"What we know is that early intervention is key. The earlier you catch a kid and expose them to rigorous curriculum - but also experiential learning, like movement and music and social and emotional tools - that is a difference-maker for kids," she said.
The district's early childhood expansion may help push Oklahoma to the top ranking next year in the proportion of the state's 4-year-olds enrolled in pre-K.
Last year, Oklahoma was second only to Florida in pre-K enrollment but ranked much higher in quality, according to the 2012 State of Preschool report.
"I can see within the next five years or so us having to build another pre-K center," Dunlop said.
About two years ago, Broken Arrow solidified its commitment to early childhood education by asking voters to redirect $73.5 million of its 2009 bond issue to building two new elementary schools and four pre-K centers.
"Children are a product of what they're exposed to, so if they don't have a lot of experiential learning then they won't have wide breadth of things to draw from when they get older," Dunlop said.
This is especially true for kids in poverty, whose parents are often working all the time and are unable to take their children on trips, to museums or to expose them to new experiences, she said.
"If you can catch a kid early, then you can erase all those gaps," Dunlop said.
Oklahoma early education
- Second state to offer voluntary prekindergarten to all children, beginning in 1998.
- 99 percent of school districts offer a pre-K program.
- 74 percent of all 4-year-olds attend a pre-K program - a record-high enrollment.
- Total enrollment in state pre-K program is 40,089.
- The state program meets nine of 10 quality benchmark standards.
- For more than a decade, at least 55 percent of 4-year-olds have been enrolled in pre-K.
- State ranks 22nd in the amount of state funding for pre-K programs; 2012 spending was $146 million.
Source: State of Preschool 2012 report from National Institute for Early Education Research
Kim Archer 918-581-8315
kim.archer@tulsaworld.com
Original Print Headline: Pre-K enrollment jumps
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