Holyoke receives $750K state grant for preschool programs
Published: Sep. 09, 2019, 2:24 p.m.
Holyoke School Superintendent and Receiver Stephen Zrike
By Dennis Hohenberger | Special to The Republican
HOLYOKE — The Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care awarded the city's public schools a $750,000 grant to provide continued high-quality preschool programs.
The Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative Grant will support programs at Morgan, Lawrence and Sullivan Schools. The school district formed a partnership with the Valley Opportunity Council.
The year-round program will run Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The programs will operate from a single classroom at each school.
"We are thrilled to receive this critical funding to support early childhood education in Holyoke that will benefit our youngest learners, their families, and our city," School Receiver Stephen Zrike said in a statement.
Zrike stated the preschool program earned the highest quality rating from the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care.
"We are pleased to continue on our path for expanding access to high-quality early childhood programming in the Holyoke Public Schools," he stated.
The students learn preliteracy, fine and gross motor skill and experience life in the classroom and academic setting. Zrike said children enrolled in a preschool program become prepared for the social-emotional and behavioral riggers of kindergarten and above.
"Our preschool students are nearly two times more likely to be prepared for Kindergarten, as measured on the nationally normed STAR reading assessment," Zrike stated. He added that families seek high-quality early education for the children.
The school district set a goal to provide full-day prekindergarten to all 4-year-olds in Holyoke, a first in the commonwealth. The schools continue to expand a popular dual-language program for younger students.
The Holyoke Public Schools is currently accepting applications for the 2019-2020 school year. Children who are 3 or 4 years old before Sept. 1, 2019, may enter the preschool program.
For more information, parents should call the Valley Opportunity Council at 414-552-1559 ext. 329.
Visit the Holyoke Public School's website at www.hps.holyoke.ma.us to learn more about early childhood and preschool offerings.