Pacific Grove Unified to expand state preschool, add summer‑birthday children at Forest Grove Elementary

Pacific Grove Unified officials told parents at a community meeting that the district will expand its state preschool program to include children whose birthdays fall between June 3 and Sept. 1 and will move the current state preschool from David Avenue to Forest Grove Elementary.

The district said the Forest Grove preschool will mirror the transitional kindergarten (TK) schedule as closely as possible — about 8:40 a.m. to 1:55 p.m. — provide free snack and lunch, align curriculum with TK and connect students to on‑site wraparound services including the Monarch Club before‑and‑after‑school program. Barbara Martinez, principal of Pacific Grove Adult Education and longtime district preschool leader, said the change is designed to give summer‑birthday students a pathway into the district’s mixed‑delivery preschool system and “to make sure that the summer birthday students have a spot, in the spirit of inclusion and prepping them for their next year in kindergarten.”

Why it matters: the plan affects which children are eligible for state preschool slots in Pacific Grove and how early childhood classrooms will be organized. Parents at the meeting pressed district staff on whether younger 3‑ and 4‑year‑olds placed with older peers will receive developmentally appropriate instruction and on safety and supervision outdoors and at arrival and dismissal.

Program details presented by district staff and teachers include: the state preschool currently at David Avenue is a three‑hour morning program that the district intends to convert and co‑locate at Forest Grove; the expanded Forest Grove schedule will run roughly 8:40 a.m.–1:55 p.m.; the PG Adult Education co‑op preschool offers morning (8:45–11:30 a.m.) and afternoon (12:45–3:30 p.m.) three‑hour options; the fee‑based extended‑day program at PG Adult Education was described as $1,150 per month; and the district does not expect the Forest Grove state preschool to exceed about 24 students. District presenters said lunch and snacks at the expanded preschool will be free to participants.

On curriculum and classroom approach, Erin Homami, a preschool teacher with the district, said staff will “focus on meeting the students where they are and scaffolding as appropriate” and emphasized that instruction is play‑based with developmentally appropriate academics. The district said it plans curricular alignment between the expanded preschool and TK and told parents the program will include students with disabilities who qualify for state preschool services.

Parents raised several concerns. One parent asked how a nearly 4‑year‑old placed in a class that includes 3‑year‑olds would develop the same social‑emotional and behavioral skills as peers who spend a year with older children. District staff responded that mixed‑age co‑op classrooms already operate in the adult school and that older children in those settings often “bring up” younger children; staff also said teachers plan activities that separate 3‑ and 4‑year‑old groups and that students will have opportunities to interact with age‑peers across the school. Another parent questioned safety and playground fencing at Forest Grove, noting that the David Avenue campus is fully fenced; staff said supervisors will monitor and, if necessary, request site changes and that additional supervision and staggered schedules will be used to reduce risk.

Logistics discussed included drop‑off/pickup routines, staggered arrival times, staggered lunches and recess, and a plan for teachers or staff to meet children at drop‑off points if parents are not permitted on campus. Staff said registration for the state preschool is application‑based and that priority will be given to the summer‑birthday students; families were told to pick up a hard‑copy application packet from the adult school front office (Miss Diane) if they had questions about their online registration.

District staff acknowledged implementation details remain to be finalized. The principal at the meeting said the team will continue to work on arrival/dismissal logistics, recess and lunch scheduling, and other operational concerns, and that slides and additional information will be posted on the district website. Staff also said current application numbers for the state preschool are low but can change.

The meeting ended with staff asking attendees to contact the district with additional questions and with a reminder that program slides and registration information will be posted online and made available at the adult school office.