In an effort to address the growing needs in early childhood education, the Warren County R-III School District has extended its partnership with Youth in Need to keep providing a prekindergarten program at no cost to families in the district.The board approved the contract with a 6-0 vote during its monthly meeting March 10, with member John Bradshaw absent.Amy Marit, Warren County director for the Youth in Need Head Start, provided an overview of the program and the changes that were written as part of the latest grant, which was awarded in December 2015.The approved agreement will go into effect July 1, 2016, and run through June 30, 2017.Youth in Need will provide prekindergarten services in four classrooms throughout the district, including one classroom each at Rebecca Boone and Warrior Ridge Elementary schools, along with two classrooms at Daniel Boone Elementary.Each classroom will be in session from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, utilizing the same calendar as the rest of the district, except for start and end dates.Marit says it’s important note the difference in the school starting date for the Youth in Need classrooms, as teachers will undergo training before students begin session Aug. 29, later than the actual district start date of Aug. 11.Marit says one of the more significant changes will be the transition of having both a morning and afternoon session classroom at Daniel Boone Elementary to now a full-day session.“Historically, this classroom has had the lowest attendance and enrollment, having five to seven slots open,” said Marit. “With the shortened class time, the actual learning time is so low that we are seeing lower outcomes than our other classrooms.”The classrooms at Rebecca Boone and Warrior Ridge Elementary will each have 20 enrollment slots for children ages 4 and 5. One classroom at Daniel Boone will offer 12 enrollment slots for 3-year-olds and also be open to 4- or 5-year-olds who have never been in a prekindergarten program.Marit says another substantial change will be the realignment and increase in staff, with each classroom now having a lead instructor, who has a degree in early childhood education, along with two assistant instructors.Contrary to the past, these will now be full-time positions, which will cause an increase in service costs.“It helps substantially when multiple children are having difficulty that we have the three teachers in there so that the other children can continue getting the education components and learning during that time,” said Marit.Teacher pay also increased to help acquire and maintain quality teachers and combat the frequent turnover that had taken place in past years.“Previously we had paid those degreed teachers around $10 an hour coming in, so it just wasn’t realistic to find early childhood education teachers in our community at that rate,” said Marit.Youth in Need also has added a family advocate to assist families in need and help the teachers focus more on curriculum instead of family support.“This position is designed to work with the families to help support them during a time of crisis or emergency as well as meet with the family four times a year, beginning with an assessment meeting where they set goals and help work with the family on those goals,” explained Marit.Total cost for the entire program will be $499,550.99, with Warren County R-III being responsible $207,570.66 and Youth in Need funding the remainder.Youth in Need