Needy families get preschool help
School district hopes to include children ages 3 and 4 in plan
The Menlo Park City School District hopes to expand preschool to 3- and 4-year-olds in a move that would see needy children attend for free.
The K-8 district with facilities in Menlo Park and Atherton has been considering the expansion for the past four years. It became possible after Laurel School Upper Campus opened last fall, freeing up space elsewhere.
The district is considering using two classrooms at Laurel Elementary with room for 48 students, supported by a program director, four teachers and the equivalent of 2.5 full-time support staff. The program would begin in the 2018/19 school year and run year-round five days a week.
Ahmad Sheikholeslami, the district’s chief business and operations officer, said roughly $109,000 has been set aside for a program director and facility upgrades.
Assistant Superintendent Erik Burmeister said more than 48 kids could be enrolled because only those most in need would attend every day. He said 75 percent of kids would come from families who can pay market preschool rates, which roughly cost between $1,600 and $2,500 per month for full-time instruction.
Those paying market rate would subsidize lowincome kids and support services for their parents. In the first year, the district pegs the cost of the program at $620,000.
A recent study by Nobel-winning economist James Heckman and researchers at the University of Chicago and University of Southern California found that a high-quality preschool can reduce taxpayer costs 13 percent by improving educational, health, employment and social behavior outcomes in future years.
A 2013 study commissioned by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development found that children at all economic levels who start in preschool are 20 percent more likely than their non-preschool peers to graduate from high school; 24 percent less likely to be convicted of a crime; and by age 40 have earned on average $150,000 more than peers.
Burmeister said 6 percent of district students qualify as needy and the program would support roughly half of them in the first year. Before the district can support all of its needy families, it needs to work through ramifications of the Tinsley Voluntary Transfer Program. Tinsley was the name of a 1986 settlement of a county lawsuit that guarantees the transfer of minority students in the Ravenswood City School District to seven other area school districts, including the Menlo Park district.
“If we are able to do this and do it well, we’ve found a way at no cost to the district and taxpayer to address those achievement gap issues when research says you really have to open that education window, which is (age) zero to 5,” Burmeister said.
He said many families have asked the district to implement the early education program due to a lack of available spots at nearby preschools.
“The childcare options out there to get a quality full-time preschool is really difficult in this area and if you find one, you end up on a waiting list for a long time,” Burmeister said.
Building Kidz of Menlo Park, a preschool that opened in 2015, has 27 filled spots with 15 on a waiting list. Sylvia Xeureb, the owner, said many of the spots are filled by younger siblings, who get priority. Building Kidz charges from $1,025 for part-time to $1,700 for full-time per month.
“I think it’s great that they’re doing something to help low-income families,” Xeureb said. “I’m all about helping any child (with early education).”
All Five preschool in Menlo Park’s Belle Haven neighborhood was one of four district officials toured while researching the program. The others were Educare in San Jose, San Carlos School District’s preschool program and Stanford’s Bing Nursery School. Board member Terry Thygesen said All Five provides a great model for the district.
“Her experience is the most relevant of anybody,” said Thygesen, referring to Carol Thomsen, All Five’s owner. “She is doing something that really is a mix of socioeconomic development.”
Thomsen opened All Five in 2015 as a full-day, year-round facility for 24 preschoolers, of which six pay the full rate of $1,750 a month, six pay on a sliding scale and 12 at the poverty level pay a small fee, with the rest coming from state subsidies and philanthropic dollars. She said all her spots are filled through next year and there’s a waiting list for 2018-19.