Victoria Soto Preschool details seats, funding and plans for modest expansion

The director of Stratford’s Victoria Soto Preschool outlined program operations, funding and an expansion plan that would add classrooms if the district secures construction support.

Director Erica (surname not specified in the transcript) told the Board the program is accredited, grant‑funded and now consolidates multiple earlier grants under the state’s Early Start Connecticut grant. She said the preschool offers multiple program types — full‑day full‑year, school‑day school‑year, half‑day peer‑model seats and an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) program — and described an integrated peer model for inclusion of students with special needs.

Erica said the Office of Early Childhood (OEC) provides the Early Start Connecticut grant seating allocations and that Victoria Soto received 18 full‑day full‑year grant seats and 106 school‑day school‑year seats, for 124 grant‑funded seats in total. She explained grant eligibility is based on family income and that parents must supply income tax documentation for state verification. Erica said tuition for a full‑day full‑year seat is $15,000 annually (11 payments), and school‑day school‑year seats are $7,500 annually (9 payments); peer‑model half‑day tuition was listed as $2,000 annually.

The director described other funding sources: sliding‑scale parent tuition, Care for Kids subsidies, IDEA funds and contributions from the Stratford Board of Education. She said the program is closer to self‑sustaining than in previous years but that the district still pays salary and benefit costs for approximately 14 positions and covers mandated special‑education staffing costs.

On capacity and expansion, Erica said the building currently can serve up to 248 students and that one additional classroom could increase capacity further if the district can construct a bathroom and add an exterior door. She said the school applied for — or planned to apply for — construction funding and that any expansion would be pursued conservatively because preschool staffing is a statewide challenge.

Erica highlighted community partnerships and workforce development: a STAR grant partnership creating four apprentices hired as teacher‑twos who will earn child development credentials while working in the building; regular programming with the Stratford Public Library, Parents’ Place and local nonprofits; and a planned aftercare partnership with the YMCA for 2:30–5:30 p.m.

Board members asked for a financial breakdown of operating costs and revenue; the director and district staff agreed to provide a detailed “dollars and cents” summary for the board’s review. The Stratford chief operating officer and others said the district covers benefits for preschool employees and that a full financial analysis would help future expansion planning.