Charlottesville plans consolidated Early Learning Center, aims for "kindergarten strong" entry

Charlottesville City Schools on Oct. 30 presented a plan to consolidate the district’s preschool programs into a dedicated Early Learning Center that staff say will create a single, licensed site offering extended-day services and a stronger pathway into kindergarten.

Dr. Korab, the division’s early learning leader and principal for the initiative, told the board the center will open with about 60 staff and roughly 200 students on site this year and use a single improvement plan to align instructional and operational work. “We are going to be the Colts,” Korab said, describing the chosen program name and colors. “We are the young horses.”

District leaders said consolidation will allow the ELC to operate under a single license, enable aftercare partnerships and create consistent instructional approaches across preschool and kindergarten. Korab said the division will use the school improvement plan as the organizing template and will prioritize foundational literacy, math, executive functioning, family engagement and developmental screening so students enter kindergarten “strong.”

Staff described several near-term and programmatic details:

- Enrollment and staffing: The division reported approximately 190 students enrolled now with about 10 more in processing; the total number of slots awarded is about 217. Staff said their immediate goal is to start the school year full and to establish a wait list by improving access (for example, adding extended-day options). Korab said the program intends to staff about 60 people, combining existing employees and reconfigured positions.

- Literacy and professional learning: Preschool teachers will take an early-childhood letters course tied to the science of reading so that preschool instruction aligns with K–12 practices. The division will hold professional learning twice monthly and maintain a shared drive of curricular resources to support vertical alignment with kindergarten.

- Facilities and schedule: The program is pursuing two building efforts — an interim site and a new permanent campus. The district is working with VMDO on schematic options and has reviewed prior site-massing work Mitchell & Matthews produced for the Oak Lawn property (land the district acquired from the University of Virginia). Staff said the Mitchell & Matthews work speeds the analysis and that decisions about a permanent site should be possible in early first quarter of the next calendar year; meanwhile the division expects an interim condition of roughly two to three years (they described about three years as the current working timeline).

- Family services and partnerships: The division said it is negotiating an MOU with the YMCA to provide aftercare at the consolidated center, a change officials expect will make enrollment more accessible for working families who need longer day options.

- Inclusion and curriculum: Korab emphasized inclusive instruction (co-teaching for letter names and sounds) and “rich, purposeful” play-based centers that are intentionally aligned to academic goals, with screening and targeted interventions where needed.

Board members asked about capacity, access, and how the division will preserve specialized spaces already used for students with disabilities while expanding sensory and regulation spaces for more children. Korab said the division plans to increase shared sensory/skill-building spaces so they are not solely tied to individual IEP services.

The presentation included a broader vision for family engagement — on-site adult learning and parent classes — and some aspirational programming Korab described as part of “dream big” planning for what the center could offer in the long term. Korab also noted that staff established a schematic-design committee of preschool staff to review VMDO options and that teachers are visiting other divisions to learn from recent openings.

What’s next: district staff will continue schematic and site analysis, finalize interim-site operations, continue professional learning for preschool teachers, and work with partners on enrollment and aftercare logistics. Board members requested regular updates on enrollment numbers, family outreach, and capital timelines.