Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Early Childhood topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Paddock Early Childhood Center highlights rapid enrollment growth and full-inclusion preschool
Summary
Jessie Kishiyama, executive director of Paddock Early Childhood Center, told the Milan Area Schools board the program has expanded enrollment and classrooms since Michigan’s universal 4-year-old preschool changes and that the district now emphasizes full inclusion for preschool special education.
At the Milan Area Schools board meeting, Jessie Kishiyama, executive director of Paddock Early Childhood Center (PECC), described rapid growth in the district’s early-childhood programs and urged the board and community to help with recruitment. “We have 170 early childhood students,” Kishiyama said, and noted the district now operates a birth-to-first-grade continuum that includes infant/toddler care, tuition-based preschool, a no-cost GSRP 4-year-old preschool and before/after-school care.
Kishiyama told the board that universal preschool in Michigan — which removed income caps for 4-year-olds — has driven enrollment increases at PECC. She said the district’s 4‑year‑old preschool and GSRP program grew from 36 students to 82 in roughly three years, and classroom capacity increased from seven to 11. “In short, preschool works,” she said, citing research on early investment and describing the program’s focus on language, literacy and social-emotional learning.
Kishiyama also described the program’s curriculum and supports: PECC uses the HighScope curriculum, collects literacy and language progress data across periods, provides full special-education supports for ages 3–5 (and begins transition work around age 2½) and reported serving 23 students with disabilities within the early‑childhood program. She said three-quarters of PECC staff have completed or are progressing toward degrees in the field and described the mix of full- and part-time staff that run care from 6:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Board members asked logistical questions about transportation and access. Kishiyama said district transportation is provided for the universal 4-year-old program but not for tuition-based preschool placements. She also requested help recruiting families for preschool openings and offered flyers and banners for board members and community partners.
Kishiyama said PECC plans outreach such as an off-site meet-and-greet with Superintendent McMahon and Dr. Phelps; she also reminded families about an eighth-to-ninth-grade transition night for students with IEPs and 504 plans scheduled at the high school on May 12 at 6:30 p.m. The presentation closed with board and public praise for PECC staff and suggestions to increase community advertising for the program.
