By Harold Reutter
harold.reutter@theindependent.com

Nebraska's ranking was 34th out of 38 states that offer state-funded preschool programs. Twelve states offer no such programs at all.

However, John Street of the Central Nebraska Support Services Program said Nebraska's percentage of 4-year-olds served by a state-funded preschool program likely will rise because Nebraska is now making state aid available for preschool education.

CNSSP provides special education services to numerous schools in Central Nebraska, with Grand Island the largest school district in the cooperative. Grand Island serves as the sponsoring district.

Street said when Grand Island first began offering preschool, its services were limited to preschool children with disabilities.

Now, CNSSP has responsibility for five preschool classes covering 150 students in the Grand Island school system, with 20 percent of those students having disabilities.

The remaining preschool students are all "at-risk" students because of poverty or because the students are English language learners or dual language students.

Street noted that the University of Nebraska-Lincoln received a federal Early Reading First grant, which it is using for the Head Start program in Grand Island and the Leap Ahead preschool classes, which serve some Head Start-eligible preschool students.

Street said that grant helps provide curriculum, as well as professional development for staff and a family support program. Professional development or teacher in-service is one area where the report criticized Nebraska.

In addition to its Leap Ahead preschool classes, the Grand Island Public Schools has 180 students in Gold Star preschool classes. Those classes are for non-English speaking preschool students and are limited to 15 students per class, with students attending either a morning or afternoon session.

Street noted that Nebraska's program says that if a school runs a successful preschool program for three successive years, the program will no longer be funded by a grant, but through state aid.

Nebraska passed legislation in 2005 allowing 4-year-olds in approved school-based prekindergarten programs to be included in the K-12 state aid formula. As a result, $1.7 million was available in new or expansion grants for the 2006-07 program year.

Street said Grand Island is receiving its first state aid money for preschool students this year. He said other preschool classes received expansion grants and will eventually receive state aid money if they also continue to operate successfully for three years.

Street said the promise of state aid after three years of running a preschool program will induce more school districts to apply for the grants.

He noted that CNSSP co-op schools Palmer and Wood River have each applied for a grant to start a preschool program. Another CNSSP co-op school district, St. Paul, had its first preschool this year.

Street said CNSSP and Central City have run a collaborative preschool for a couple of years now.

The Centura school district has also had preschool program for a number of years, Street said.

At its last meeting, the Northwest school board approved applying for a three-year grant to begin a preschool program.

St. Libory Principal Jeff Ellsworth was asked by board members what happens to the grant money if a school district does not run a program successfully for three years.

Ellsworth said he feels the state wants to work with school districts to ensure that their programs are successful. That would mean eventually qualifying for state aid.

While the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) said Nebraska ranked only 34th out of the 50 states for providing early education to 4 percent of its 4-year-olds, it also noted that state-funded programs met eight of NIEER's 10 quality standard benchmarks.

Those quality standard benchmarks are: 1, early learning standards; 2, teacher degree; 3, teacher specialized training; 4, assistant teacher degree; 5, teacher in-service; 6, maximum class size; 7, staff-child ratios; 8, screening/referral and support services; 9, meals; and 10, monitoring.

According to NIEER, the two areas where Nebraska missed the benchmarks were for teacher in-service and for screening, referral and support services.

While Nebraska only ranked 34th in the percentage of 4-year-olds served by state-funded preschool programs, it ranked 15th in the number of 3-year-olds served.

Street noted that Grand Island plans to apply for a grant that is now possible because Nebraska voters approved Amendment 5, which will provide money for early childhood education programs for children from birth to age 3.

NIEER is a unit of the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J.

NIEER describes itself as supporting early childhood education policy by providing objective, nonpartisan information based on research. NIEER says it is supported through grants from The Pew Charitable Trusts and others.

An online copy of "The State of Preschool 2007: State Preschool Yearbook" can be accessed at www.nieer.org.