Frontier to shift district pre‑K to Falcon Center, add full‑day seats under state grant

Frontier Central School District officials told the Board of Education they will transition all district‑run pre‑kindergarten classes to a centralized Falcon Center and expand full‑day offerings after receiving a state grant to support full‑day universal pre‑K.

A district administrator said the district currently operates pre‑K programs in four school buildings, partners with three community‑based organizations and is moving toward a single district site at the Falcon Center on Southwestern Boulevard for the coming school year. The plan calls for seven full‑day district classes at the Falcon Center, staggered start times to ease traffic flow, and continued partnerships with three community‑based providers: Story Oak Academy (listed in the presentation as formerly Briar), BrightPath, and CAO Head Start.

Officials said the district applied for and received a statewide full‑day universal pre‑K grant that included an on‑site review by a state liaison from the Office of Early Learning. The liaison’s informal feedback included praise — “I would love it if my child had the opportunity to attend a school district like Frontier,” the presenter recounted — and a subsequent written quality assurance report that included a small number of corrective actions and suggested improvements.

Corrective actions the district reported it had already addressed or planned included extending professional learning opportunities to staff at community‑based partner sites and including those partners in the district pre‑registration lottery. Suggested actions the district plans to pursue include monthly collaborative visits with community partners and piloting two to three curricular resources in the fall with a recommendation to adopt one district‑wide after the pilot.

Officials estimated the district will be able to serve a total of about 92 universal pre‑K students across district and partner classrooms after the transition and said all district UBK (Universal Birth–Kindergarten) classes will be converted to full day. The presenter said construction and building adjustments at the Falcon Center — including developmentally appropriate restrooms — are underway and that administrators expect to open the site in September with full classes.

Board members asked for and were offered further updates as the district continues facility work, professional learning with partners, and the curricular pilot. No formal board action was recorded at the meeting; the item was presented as part of regular program updates.