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Pre‑K and Early Head Start parent committee urges preservation and expansion of programs, requests inclusion in staffing formula
Summary
The Pre‑K and Early Head Start Parent Policy Committee told the school board it supports expanding pre‑K slots, adding inclusion classrooms and including pre‑K students in school staffing formulas for specials and mental‑health supports.
Members of the Pre‑K and Early Head Start Parent Policy Committee presented their annual report to the Fairfax County School Board on June 17 and urged the board to preserve and expand pre‑K and early Head Start services.
The committee said the program served roughly 2,246 students across 132 classrooms during the 2024–25 school year, and reported 68% of enrolled families had incomes below 130% of the federal poverty level, 82% of students came from multilingual homes and 18% of students were identified with disabilities.
Why it matters: Pre‑K and Early Head Start provide early childhood education and related health, nutrition and family services that the committee and board members said prepare children for kindergarten and reduce later academic interventions.
Key recommendations
- Prioritize maintaining pre‑K and Early Head Start classes and services regardless of federal or state funding changes. - Include pre‑K students in the school staffing formula so school‑based staff (art, music, PE, and mental‑health supports) account for pre‑K enrollment. - Continue funding program expansion to reduce the wait list and increase inclusion opportunities.
Parent testimony and figures
Ari Rua, chair of the Parent Policy Committee, detailed family outreach and meeting structures and said the committee had put parent voices into the process: "It truly takes a village to support all of our children," he said. The committee described outreach, training and family‑engagement activities held throughout the year, and reported that the program increased pre‑K slots by 134 from the previous year and planned an additional 175 slots for the next school year.
The committee also said the pre‑K wait list remains large and that many three‑year‑old applications (about 1,300 in recent years) were held for processing the following year because the division prioritizes four‑year‑old slots.
Ending: The committee asked the board to adopt its recommendations to protect current services, include pre‑K in staffing formulas and continue funding expansion so more families can access pre‑K before kindergarten.
