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Early childhood leaders report enrollment growth and new classrooms at Francis Drake
Summary
Administrators reported early-childhood enrollment at 319 across three sites, added ABA and substantially separate classrooms, and listed building upgrades and new playground/fencing; staff emphasized social-emotional learning and attendance initiatives.
Leominster school leaders reported program expansions and facility upgrades for early-childhood programs housed at Francis Drake, Priest Street and Bennett preschools, telling the committee the district is adding classrooms and supports while monitoring attendance and growth.
Ann Margret Mitchell (Speaker 9), who identified herself as administration for Bennett Preschool, Priest Street and Lincoln Preschool at Francis Drake, reported current enrollments of 154 students at Priest Street, 124 at Bennett and 41 at Lincoln Preschool — 319 total. She described new classroom configurations this year, including an ABA classroom at Priest Street and an additional pre-K substantially separate session at Lincoln, and said enrollment at Bennett and Lincoln can grow as students qualify for special education services.
Mitchell and Assistant Principal Andrew Kineow highlighted building updates: a new gas boiler at Priest Street, a new portable for Lincoln Preschool, a new playground at Priest Street and new fencing at Bennett with fencing planned for Priest Street. Presenters also described preschool STEAM days, a visit from the Leominster Fire Department and classroom practices to support social-emotional learning (Second Step program).
The committee was told about positive early-childhood outcomes — a large share of students meeting end-of-year benchmarks in DIBELS last year and notable I-Ready stretch growth for a subset of students — and administrators emphasized data meetings and PLCs used to tailor interventions.
Why it matters: Expansions in early-childhood services, new specialized classrooms and facility upgrades affect preschool families and set the foundation for K–12 success; the committee flagged attendance and SEL as priorities for sustaining growth.
Next steps: Staff invited committee members to review the data in greater detail and said they would continue reporting enrollment and outcome metrics.
