Nutley Public School District reports strong gains, plans for nearly doubling preschool capacity
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Summary
District officials told the board the high-quality preschool expansion has produced measurable learning gains and that the district plans to grow from current seats to 462 state-funded preschool expansion seats next year while reserving spaces for students with IEPs.
Nutley Public School District officials told the board that a multi-year preschool expansion has produced notable academic gains and that the district plans to increase seats and classrooms next year.
The district's early-childhood director, April Vadiello, said fall-to-spring assessments for the 2024-25 school year showed a marked drop in students scoring below expectations and "a significant change in students exceeding expectations," with the largest gains in language, cognitive and math domains. "We saw students continuing to meet expectations and then a significant change in students exceeding expectations," Vadiello said.
A district presentation traced the effort to July 2022, when the state's preschool expansion funding criteria changed and Nutley applied for and was awarded funding. District leaders said the award required the program to be operational by October. The presenter described the district's decision to reconfigure space, move media centers and open classrooms to meet the higher staffing and square-footage standards that accompanied the state funding.
Current capacity and providers: the presentation said the district's early childhood facility plus district and provider classrooms together offer 333 seats; the district is funded by the state for 252 seats, with 33 seats for preschool expansion inclusion classes and about 48 self-contained preschool-disability seats. Providers mentioned by the district include Preschool Learn Time and Community School, and one provider is operating at the Saint Paul's facility.
Projections and timeline: Vadiello said the district is projecting to add 14 classrooms next year (including three at provider sites and 11 district classrooms) and to raise its preschool expansion enrollment target to 462 students while continuing to reserve 33 seats for children with IEPs. The district noted a planning timeline keyed to the state: a plan submission due November 15, a state aid notice in February, a budget workbook in March, and final approval in early April. Applications for families typically open in January; the district runs a lottery if demand exceeds seats.
Facilities change and sixth-grade transition: presenters described recently released state guidance reducing required classroom space from 950 to 630 square feet, which they said will free classroom space in elementary buildings as the district transitions sixth grade to the middle school. "This is another silver lining in the sixth grade transition," the presenter said, noting the change helps the district reach the state's five-year expectation that about 90% of the preschool universe be served.
Why it matters: district leaders framed the expansion as part of a 5- to 10-year vision to build a full pre-K–12 system in Nutley and said the benefits of high-quality preschool'improvements in social-emotional skills and early academic performance'will accrue to the district for years. The presentation also emphasized the partnership with township government and local providers as key to securing facilities and accelerating implementation.
Next steps: the board heard the enrollment, facilities and timeline details and acknowledged the presentation. The district will submit the November plan and await the state aid notice and budget workbook to finalize next year's seat allocations. The board did not take formal action on the preschool plan during this meeting; presenters said approved resolutions later on the agenda will address related personnel and facility items.
