Today’s Asbury Park Press has coverage of the newly expanded pre-K program for 3- and 4-year-olds in Red Bank
The newspaper also put together the above video about the the first day of classes for the program.
From the story:
Last school year’s pilot program of one class of 15 3-year-olds in Red Bank blossomed into several classes at four locations this school year, serving 60 children. Parents who had their children in last year’s group spoke highly of the program’s educational benefits.
“It’s a great program, and the Tools of the Mind curriculum is excellent,” said Jan Murphy, whose daughter Caroline entered the program for 4-year-olds on Thursday. “It’s not just day care.”
Red Bank borough schools received $2 million from the state Department of Education to expand the program for this school year, said Laura C. Morana, superintendent of schools. The goal of the program is to give children the foundation needed to help them achieve in the upper grades, develop critical thinking skills and socialize them, she said.
The prekindergarten program is open to all borough residents, because 40 percent of children in the district are eligible for free or reduced cost lunch, she said.
Classes for the pre-K program are held in four locations around town: the primary school, St. Thomas Episcopal Church, the Monmouth Day Care Center and the Tower Hill Day Care Center. As noted by the Press, all three off-site locations are staffed by certified teachers and use the district’s curriculum.
