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Pottsgrove pre‑K counts program at capacity; staff, transportation and site needs flagged
Summary
The Pottsgrove School District’s pre‑K Counts class is full at 20 students. District and YWCA partners described daily routines, staffing, transportation limits and a desire to move the program on‑site to strengthen future grant applications.
Terry Koehler, presenting a pre‑K Counts update to the Pottsgrove School District Board of School Directors, said the program currently enrolls 20 students — the class’s capacity — and that 10 of those students will enter kindergarten in the 2025–26 school year. The class is exclusively Pottsgrove students, Koehler said, and interest is already building for next year’s slots.
Koehler described a five‑hour program day that includes breakfast, family‑style lunch and a one‑hour quiet/nap period. The Tri‑County YWCA provides transportation and meals under the partnership; Koehler said the YWCA van can carry up to eight students per run, requiring multiple runs to serve the class. The program uses the Creative Curriculum approved by the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning, Koehler said, and emphasizes social‑emotional skills and routines alongside prewriting and letter recognition activities.
Koehler said staffing currently includes one full‑time certified teacher, Shanna Wyand; one full‑time classroom aide who is a Pottsgrove graduate and plans to pursue a Child Development Associate credential; and a full‑time building substitute who fills in as needed. He said state rules for the pre‑K Counts grant require a 1:10 adult‑to‑child ratio and that Pottsgrove staff — not YWCA employees — must be the staff counted to meet that ratio. That requirement, Koehler and district staff said, complicates off‑site delivery because Pottsgrove must provide the staff coverage.
Looking ahead, Koehler said the district intends to maintain the YWCA partnership through the current grant period and plans to reapply for the pre‑K Counts grant when it reopens, which he said is expected in 2028. He added the district would prefer to relocate the class to a Pottsgrove building if possible, saying on‑site operation would help demonstrate the district’s capacity to administer the program in future grant applications.
Koehler also described community engagement activities: district staff and students ran a toy drive that supplemented the YWCA’s holiday event after Toys for Tots could not support that site, and three high‑school students have begun or arranged job‑shadow visits to the pre‑K classroom.
District staff and board members thanked Koehler for starting and running the program; board members noted that an on‑site program would simplify staffing coverage for required ratios and reduce logistical strain from multiple van runs.
