Plans to develop a fine arts- and literacy-focused preschool in Iola were unveiled Monday night before the USD 257 school board.
The possible Iola Arts and Literacy Preschool Project, a collaboration between USD 257, the Bowlus Fine Arts Center and Allen Community College, is a response to a high demand and a low supply of pre-kindergarten services in Iola and Allen County, said Beth Toland, early childhood development coordinator at ACC and a key player in the project’s development.
Toland told the board the first five years of life are when 90 percent of the human brain is “developed and mapped,” and Iola’s lack of preschools is keeping its youth from reaching their full potential.
“Access to opportunities is the key to kindergarten readiness, not how many letters of the alphabet you know,” she said.
About 20 percent of 122 Iola kindergartners did not attend any preschool and 55 percent attended only one year of preschool, she said.
“And only 20 percent of your at-risk children attended two years of preschool,” Toland said.
With Kids Kingdom expected to stop its preschool program next year, those numbers are expected to hemorrhage, she said.
Toland said an opportunity for additional pre-K services knocked when Wichita billionaire and philanthropist Barry Downing invited the collaborating agencies to submit a grant request.
“Downing concentrates on literacy, arts, early childhood and community involvement,” she said. “Our preschool will hit three of his four interests.”
With an intent of two classrooms and no available space within existing district facilities, the project is in negotiations with a local property owner to acquire an additional building.
“There is not a move-ready facility anywhere in the city so we are looking at renovations and that is what we are hoping (Downing) would fund,” Toland said. “There is absolutely no other grant that (we) know of … that will fund capital improvements,”
If awarded, Downing’s grant is expected to exceed $200,000 and would cover approximately 55 percent of all costs associated with the potential pre-K program. The remaining expenses would be recouped through tuition fees from families and funding allocations from the Bowlus, USD 257, ACC and other community-based funding. Each agency’s burden is expected to be about $9,000.
“With early intervention … for every dollar you spend, research shows that a minimum of $4 will be returned upon your investment,” Toland said.
The board will decide whether to pursue the grant at its March 26 meeting.
