RED BANK — Through community partnerships, the Red Bank Public School District has found space to house its recently expanded preschool program, according to Superintendent Laura Morana.
At a press meeting at St. Anthony Parish on Bridge Avenue on Jan. 13, Morana said that using funds from the New Jersey Department of Education (DOE), the district began leasing five rooms at the parish facility this year.
“It’s another way to maximize the resources we have within our community to provide services for our children.
“If we did not have this space, we would not have been able to expand,” Morana said.
The district has struggled to find the physical space to house its pre-K program, Morana said.
“We are pretty filled to capacity right now,” she said.
“I would love to have two additional classes, but I don’t see how that would happen, because we just don’t have the physical space.”
The 238 children enrolled in Red Bank Primary School’s pre-K classes are currently spread throughout several venues, including the Community YMCA, Monmouth Day Care Center and the primary school.
According to Morana, the program currently serves all interested 4-year-olds, but some 3-year-olds remain on a waiting list.
Morana said the district was one of five in the state that are not former Abbott Districts to receive funding for pre-K expansion.
The district needed to overcome several challenges in order to utilize the rooms at St. Anthony, Morana said.
The rooms are used for religious education classes in the evening, Morana said, so custodial staff adapts the rooms for older students after each school day.
The staff has also taken care to obscure any religious iconography, she said.
Morana said the extra space warranted the additional effort.
“It’s just part of the routine now. If that was going to be the obstacle, we said that we’d overcome it.
“Having access to the facility has been wonderful. It’s not your traditional school, but the rooms are beautiful,” she said.
Morana lauded the benefits of pre-K in facilitating future success.
“To see just how well the 3-year-olds have adjusted to the program is incredible; they’re like little people,” she said.
Morana said the students learn through play, including development of social skills.
“It’s not just about the ABCs, but it’s about the development of the whole child.”
According to Morana, the preschool curriculum uses dramatic play and imagination with an emphasis on collaboration.
“Kids are always working in teams or working in small groups,” she said.
The pre-K curriculum lays a foundation for future concepts, like algebra, by graphing and comparing days of weather, Morana said.
“The kids are already hearing that vocabulary that is essential to them functioning well later on, she said.”
The students quickly adapt to the routine and structure of class, Morana said.
“After September, they are little, mature ‘college’ kids who are 3 years of age,” she said .
The program is tuition-free and open to any 3- or 4-year-old who lives in Red Bank.
“Without the partnership of St. Anthony, we would not have been able to offer a program to these 60 children,” Morana added.