Preschool Enrollment Town Hall – talking points and Q & A

Thank you to everyone who was able to participate in the town hall meeting last week about enrollment at The Center for the upcoming 2021-2022 school year.

All of the talking points covered during the meeting and all of the questions received from the community and our answers to those questions are listed below.

As always, you may also feel free to contact Lisa Roeder at 719-486-6928 or lroeder@lakecountyschools.net with any questions you have about the applicaiton and enrollment process which will begin this year on March 31. Para espanol, por favor llame a Jenny Mascarenaz a 719-486-6920 o jmascarenaz@lakecountyschools.net.

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Town Hall Talking Points

Hello and Welcome to The Center Town Hall. 

We wanted to provide information about our application and enrollment process. We heard the community feedback that our application process may be unclear and cause families to have more questions. We also took the opportunity to take a look at our application procedures and develop a more streamlined and equitable process for enrolling at The Center. Additionally, with covid related restrictions we had to consider alternative methods for registration.

Preschool Pathways 

The Center offers a blend of programming to provide preschool services to best fit the needs of the families in Lake County. The majority of our funding is a combination of federal and state grants. These grants come with a predetermined number of enrollment slots which cannot be changed year to year.  Each program has its own set of eligibility requirements and risk factors that must be met.

Preschool pathways available at The Center.

• Head Start – 40 federally funded slots, no cost to families preschool; dependent on family’s income and family or child risk factors
• Colorado Preschool Program (CPP) – 37.5 state funded slots, no cost preschool to qualifying children depending family or child risk factors; serves primarily 4 year olds to ensure they are ready for kindergarten 
• Early Childhood Special Education Services (students on an IEP)- not a set number of slots but students are given priority, tuition required 
• Tuition Preschool

How Many Children in a Classroom: 

Our classrooms are a blend of Head Start, CPP, IEP and Tuition programs which represents the diversity and uniqueness of our community along with providing a rich learning environment with high quality teaching staff. 

• classrooms have 16 children enrolled which follows CPP regulations with 2 teachers. 
• total enrollment for 6 classrooms at Pitts is for 96 children. 
• At the new school LCES, we will start the 2021-2022 school year with 6 classrooms open and anticipate opening 2 more rooms after the addition is complete. 
• This would bring the total enrollment for 8 classrooms to 128 children. 

Selecting The Best Fit for Children and Families

The Child Care Collaboration Committee at the Center reviews all completed applications and determines child placement.

• Step 1: Children will receive a ranking based on qualifying factors for Head Start, CPP, and IEP and age (as calculated by date of birth and proximity to kindergarten start date with those entering Kindergarten being a higher priority for service). 
• Step 2: The highest rankings will be prioritized for the available slots starting with CPP and Head start slots being fulfilled first and tuition slots to follow.
• Step 3: Once all the classrooms are full, then children are put on a wait list until there is an opening. Students will be placed on a waiting list based on the child’s ranking. Remember, order on the wait list for those without other qualifying factors are ordered by birthdate. If children have the same birthdate then a random computer generated pick will be used to assign the waiting list order. 

Wait Lists by Program

• Head Start Wait List – prioritized by number of qualifying categories
• CPP Wait List – prioritized by number of qualifying categories 
• Tuition Wait List – Prioritized by birthdate (those soonest to enter kindergarten)

Application Process

Applications will be available for download on the district website or can be picked up at any time from the front office at The Center. We will also have a dropbox available outside the front doors for pick up.

Applications may be submitted by email to lroeder@lakecountyschools.net or faxed to 719-486-9992. Paper forms may be dropped off at The Center front office.

Revised application process: 

March 31st – May 28th   – Open Application Period for First Selection

• During this time all applications will be accepted. No time/date stamp will be needed for turning in applications. 
• Applications are reviewed for completeness. Parents are notified of any missing documents.
• Lisa will meet with families during this open application period to ensure applications are complete. 

May 29th-June 5th   Application Review

• Applications received between 3/31 and 5/28 are reviewed and children will be put on the appropriate wait list: Head Start, CPP, or Tuition based on risk factors and birth date

June 11th – Acceptance letters to parents will be mailed

Late Application Period – May 29th  – July 23rd 

• During this time all applications will be accepted. No time/date stamp will be needed for turning in applications. 
• Applications reviewed for completeness. Parents notified of any missing document
• Lisa will meet with families during this open application period. 

August 4th – Acceptance calls/letters to parents 

Ongoing Applications will be accepted throughout the year. Children placed on a “late registration” waitlist if there are no openings. The late registration waitlist will be used AFTER the initial registration waitlist.

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Town Hall Questions and Answers

Question	Answer
Is there any discussion of delaying the enrollment day given this town hall is less than a week before the March 3rd enrollment day and there has been very little communication about this? A quick look at the website on the morning of 2/22 and I didn’t see anything about this: https://www.lakecountyschools.net/thecenter/	Yes, Enrollment has been moved from March 3, 2021 to March 31, 2021. More communication is planned for the new date. Please see the answer below regarding marketing the application timeline.
Will the timestamp for email applications be based on when the application is sent back (which could have a delay) or based on when the email is sent? And, if so,  should we aim to send the email at 6am? Or earlier?	We will no longer be using the timestamp system. We will go by the child’s birth date, and the children with a birthdate that is closer to attending kindergarten will be placed first. If there are two children with the same birthdate,then a random computer generated pick will be used to assign the waiting list order.
Will tuition-paying families be entered into a lottery or will it be by timestamp alone? If timestamp, what is the reasoning behind this?	We will no longer be using a timestamp. Children will receive a ranking based on qualifying factors. The highest rankings will be prioritized for the available slots. This process will work for all waitlists.
Will staff children have priority?	All families will go through the same application process
How are you reaching out to all families of eligible kids (age-wise) so they are informed of this option?	Newspaper will be prepared for a few weeks beforeDistrict websiteTown HallFacebook / Social MediaCommunity Networks
Can kids join mid-way through the year? Mid-semester?	Yes, if a child leaves the program then we will then enroll a child from the waitlist at any time during the school year. Applications are accepted throughout the year.
How many families are on the waitlist at this time? What’s the highest number you’ve had on that list?	At this time we have 15 on the tuition waitlist.Since I have been in this position, I have had a waitlist of 25 (2018-2019).(Lisa Roeder)
Do you have any recommended resources for families who are waitlisted? Or suggestions for how they (we) might organize/collaborate in the event we’re waitlisted?	Become involved in the Communities That Care Coalition Contact Hannah Guilfoord at hannah@lcbag.org
What will be the total capacity for each category (i.e. CPP, Headstart, tuition, other) at the new building PK-2 building?	Head Start – 40 slots CPP – 37.5 slotsIEP – not a set number of slots but students are given priority, tuition required Tuition – not a set number of slots but students entering Kindergarten are given priority
Relatedly, is it true that 2 classrooms will come on board later?  If yes, what will be the capacity at the new building at the start of the 2021-2022 school year?  When will those 2 additional classrooms come on board?	We anticipate opening 2 more classrooms after the school build is complete.  At the start of the school year, we will have 6 rooms open serving 96 children With 8 classrooms open, our capacity will be for 128 children
Why are those 2 extra classrooms not available at the beginning of the year? Is this a staff recruitment/training issue or a space issue?	The physical building addition of two extra classrooms was a project scope expansion this year in response to the identified need and therefore are running an independent timeline/process for completion.
Will tuition paying families with children in the program now have their spots for next year?	All families will go through the same application process. Children will receive a ranking based on qualifying factors. The highest rankings will be prioritized for the available slots. Children with a birthdate that is closer to attending kindergarten will be placed first.
Above, you say: “We will go by the child’s birth date, and the children with a birthdate that is closer to attending kindergarten will be placed first.” Does that mean that an older 4 year old will have priority over a younger 4 year old? I only ask because all the kids in that age group will be expected to attend kindergarten the following year so it doesn’t seem like a kid with a birthday in December should have priority over a kid who is only one month younger if they will both start kindergarten at the same time.	This is a correct understanding. Unfortunately a line must be drawn for a waitlist and the use of birthdate instead of timestamp allows consolidation of our wait list from a 3year old and 4 year old wait list to a single wait list that allows the continuation and clarity of the process.
What are the qualifying factors to rank children other than the birth date?	The qualifying factors are defined by Head Start and CPP programs and include:Teenage parentsSingle ParentSingle Parent UnemployedBoth Parents UnemployedParent IncarceratedAbuse / NeglectSubstance AbuseParents unmarried at child’s birthParents Education less than High School DiplomaChild / Family has frequent relocationsMultiple Families in one homeHomelessFostercare Need Speech / Language DevelopmentNeeds social skillsQualifies for free and reduced lunch
Questions that have been asked after the presentation:

Additional Questions:

1. Q: Does each wait list function independently, or do students always get pulled from Headstart, the CPP, then tuition? A: The qualifying factors always rank and are slotted first.
2. Q: If my child is turning 3 this April, can I get her on the waitlist to join this year if there are openings? A; If your child will meet the age 3 requirement timeline of the center, you may get her on the list.
3. Q: Have you all considered a guest column in the Herald Dem about this all?
4. Q: Do you think waitlisted families can be offered to be placed on a list that can be shared so we can collaborate with other families who are unable to get care? A: As we do not typically release information we would encourage an external group such as the coalition to facilitate this collaboration. This is due to our confidentiality policy.
5. Q: Is there a way to start with eight classrooms  in Aug (two center classrooms or repurposed spaces in the  new building) and we tell the state to figure out how to license it? A; The Pitts building is being repurposed for additional uses including Cloud City High school
6. Q: With the capacity set at 96 students for the beginning of the school year, do you expect that all 4 year olds will be able to attend? Or do you anticipate that some tuition-based 4 year olds will remain on the waitlist until the additional classrooms are opened? A: The highest rankings will be prioritized for the available slots. Children with a birthdate that is closer to attending kindergarten will be placed first. 
7. Q: I heard from another parent that all 4-year-olds automatically qualify for CPP. Is that true? It may be helpful to clarify to the community what qualifies students for each level. A; The highest rankings will be prioritized for the available slots. Children with a birthdate that is closer to attending kindergarten will be placed first.