Beginning next school year, parents will have the opportunity to sign their students up for a tuition-based full-day preschool option that will be run by the Echo School District.

Superintendent Raymon Smith said Echo and Stanfield currently dont have any daytime preschool options for parents, let alone any full-day options, and it seemed only logical for the district to provide one.

He said the idea came about when he and other school administrators realized that parents who work dont always have the ability to drive their children in the middle of the day or at particular times in the morning to a half-day preschool. He said, likewise, daycares in the area dont offer transportation services.

It is almost impossible for some parents to transport their kids to preschool two to four days per week for two to four hours per day, he said. They would have to find time in their work day to run their kids over to the preschool.

Because of this, Smith said none of the children of educators in Echo were going to preschool because the closest opportunity was in Hermiston.

At that point, Smith said administrators decided to offer a program that would relieve those time and transportation constraints for parents by allowing them to drop off their children first thing in the morning and then pick them up when they got off of work for the day.

Smith said, beginning at the start of school in August, the Echo School District will offer a full-day preschool option Monday through Friday.

He said it will cost $400 per month for the full-day program that runs from 8:30 a.m. to 3:35 p.m. Monday through Friday. For $50 more per student, parents can send children to a before-school program from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and an after-school program from 3:45 p.m. to 5 p.m. Parents can choose to do one or the other, as well, for a fee of $25. All funds will go directly into the program.

The traditional full-day class will feature breakfast and lunch, and the after-school program would include an afternoon snack.

Smith said because the district is charging tuition, it will be self-sustaining and will cost the district nothing to operate.

People wont have to worry if the preschool is going to be operating the next year or not, he said. It is going to be consistent. Ours is a tuition-based (program) to make it a long-term community solution.

Smith said he was originally concerned the cost was too much, but comparing the cost to day care options as well as to other preschool programs area, parents will actually be receiving a pretty good deal. He said the curriculum is going to be aligned so students are prepared for the districts full-day kindergarten program, which the district has offered for approximately eight years.

Smith said the Echo School Districts kindergarten readiness numbers are better than the state average, and by having a preschool program, the district can give students an even greater chance of succeeding.

The goal is if we can get kids on track by the time they start school, and if they can read by third grade, they are 95 percent more likely to graduate from high school, he said.

Area resident Kayla Walker will serve as a full-time teacher for the program. She said she has several years of experience in the public-school setting in special education, as well as time served as a preschool teacher.

She said students will spend their time having fun and learning essential tools they will need for school, including basic counting, colors, shapes, fine motor skills assignments and other tools.

The preschool will be situated across from Echo School in a modular facility where a house had burned down in recent years. Smith said the district is using grant funding to pay for the addition of the modular building. The site already has water, sewer and all of the utility hookups available at the site. He said the district also hopes to share half the building with Head Start.

Open enrollment for the program will begin May 1. Smith said slots for up to 25 students are available. Ideally, he said it will have 20 to 22 students, however, if it does receive the full 25, two instructional assistants will help out. Enrollment will be open to all residents with preschool-aged children in Umatilla County.

Smith said if the district receives more than 25 applications, students will be placed on a waiting list, and when a spot opens up, they will be offered admittance to the program.

For more information, people should contact Smith at raymon.smith@echo.k12.or.us.