Preschools Go Public : ‘We really should pay more attention to the early years . . .’ : School Districts Are Expanding Into Fee-Based Day Care Services

Summer was nearly over and Diana Thibault had just about given up on finding space in a good but affordable preschool program for her 4-year-old daughter.

Then her husband heard about a new full-day program at a Mission Viejo elementary school operated by the Saddleback Valley Unified School District, one of the latest districts in Orange County to provide expanded day care service to help working parents and get children involved in school sooner.

Thibault couldn’t have been more surprised, or pleased, since the program offered everything she had been looking for in a preschool.

“I had no idea they’d even thought of something like this,” said Thibault, a Foothill Ranch resident. “I think it’s great. I feel more secure with her in the school district.”

Thibault is among an increasing number of parents in Orange County who are paying to enroll their children in preschool programs operated by public school districts seeking to expand child care services.

Last week, both the Saddleback and Capistrano Valley Unified School districts opened new fee-based preschools at three elementary school campuses, joining several districts in the county already offering similar programs. The two school districts encompass most of South Orange County and have about 60,000 students.

Public schools, including some in South Orange County, long have offered preschool programs funded through state or federal grants, but those programs are limited to children from low-income families.

With fee-based programs, school district officials say they can expand their preschool offerings to more children. Such programs must pay for themselves, however, because school districts only receive tax funds for children once they start kindergarten at age 5.

Like any private center, school districts must also receive a preschool operating license from the state Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Agency.

“We only went into this because we knew there were children on waiting lists,” said Shannon Vance, resource teacher for child development programs in the Capistrano Unified School District. “We just want to make sure all children have the right to be in appropriate programs.”

It’s a mission that has been heartily endorsed by state education officials in recent years.

“We think it’s critical for the preschool age group to be addressed and also to meet the needs of the working parents,” said Susan Thompson, an administrator with the state Department of Education’s child development division. “If the child has a positive learning experience at that young age, it promotes success in school.”

Educators say a main goal of the preschool programs is to create a stronger link between nursery school and kindergarten, helping youngsters develop positive attitudes toward school, adults and classmates.

Ramona Dix, whose 4-year-old daughter attends the new preschool in the Saddleback Valley Unified School District, appreciates that kind of connection.

“The nice thing about it is she sees the bigger kids, too, and that this is what all school is like,” Dix said.

The new preschool programs in South Orange County have started small, but school officials say they hope to expand if demand reaches anticipated levels.

“Our purpose is not to compete with the private preschools, because they offer tremendous services, but to offer another opportunity to parents,” said Tim Phelps, director of recreation for the Saddleback Valley Unified School District.

For now, Saddleback has space for up to 24 youngsters ages 3 to 5 in a full-day program at Del Cerro Elementary in Mission Viejo. Fees are $425 or $375 per month, depending on how long the child stays at school. Under a 5-year-old Creative Playtime program, the district also offers preschool activities to parents a couple times a week.

The Capistrano Unified School District is offering two half-day pilot programs for youngsters ages 3 1/2 years to 4 years 9 months at Moulton Elementary in Laguna Niguel and Barcelona Hills Elementary in Mission Viejo. The capacity in each program is 24, and fees are $211.50 per month.

Space is still available at all three programs, which use classrooms that would otherwise have stood vacant because of declining enrollment at the particular elementary campuses.

While such fee-based preschools are new to South Orange County, they are more common in other parts of the county.

The programs have been a part of the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District for about 11 years.

“It was a community service,” said Karen Robinson, director of the fee-based preschool at Wagner Elementary School in Placentia, which involves about 70 youngsters. “There was a shortage of quality child care.”

The district also operates parent-pay preschools at Linda Vista Elementary in Yorba Linda and Tuffree Junior High School in Placentia.

In the year since the Los Alamitos Unified School District opened a fee-based preschool at Lee Elementary School, enrollment has more than doubled to about 100 youngsters. Parents can choose from full- or half-day programs, at costs ranging from $260 to about $400 per month.

Barbara Halvorsen, coordinator for the district’s Child Development Center, said the program is modeled after the district’s state preschool program for low-income children.

“We felt that we wanted to offer that to the community at large,” she said. “The community had expressed interest at having that quality program.”

Sandy Phillips, manager of the Child Development Center at Saddleback College, said she’s excited to see more public school districts expanding preschool offerings.

“We really should pay more attention to the early years of the children, and I think this is what’s getting the attention of the K-12 system,” Phillips said. “We just need more quality schools out there.”