Overton County families will have the opportunity to secure a spot for their children during the voluntary pre-K kickoff night Thursday, though classroom space is highly limited.
Elementary Curriculum Supervisor Rebekah Hughes oversees the pre-K through sixth-grade programs for the district. She said parents attending the kickoff can meet their child’s prospective teachers and receive direct assistance with the required application paperwork.
“And it is important to come because many of our schools fill up really fast, and we only have 20 seats per pre-K classroom,” Hughes said. “So, a lot of times we’ll fill up that night from just the parents who come in for the kickoff.”
To register a child, parents must provide a birth certificate, proof of residency such as a utility bill or lease agreement, and income verification. Hughes said families are also required to submit a physical and an updated shot record for their student.
“And of course, the children need to be four by August 15th to qualify for preschool and it is income-eligible four-year-olds that we are targeting that we do enroll first,” Hughes said.
While the district prioritizes income-eligible families based on grant requirements, applications from all residents are collected and reviewed. Families who do not meet the initial income thresholds may still have an opportunity to join the program later in the year.
“Well, go ahead and fill out the application and get it turned in because we do have to follow grant requirements, but if we have seats still available after the 30th school day of school, we can start looking at non-qualifiers,” Hughes said. “So, there is always a chance, so I always tell people fill that application out, you know, there, you know, have it filled out and ready because you just never know. There could be a spot that opens up.”
The district recently secured a preschool grant known as P-A-A-L-E-N-S, which allowed administrators to purchase high-quality instructional materials for the classrooms. This funding has helped elevate the program to operate more like a traditional school environment rather than a standard daycare.
“It’s a preschool grant that we wrote and we’ve been able to purchase high-quality instructional materials and all kinds of things for the classrooms,” Hughes said. “And it has been amazing what we’ve been able to do and our pre-K classrooms are great, our teachers are amazing, and I just, I want every child to get that opportunity to come and be a part of our program.”
Parents who cannot attend the kickoff event can send a relative in their place or contact the central office to arrange an alternative time to pick up an application.