The school year may be halfway over, but there is still time to sign up young children for no-cost preschool in the San Diego Unified School District.
District officials said they have more than 250 spots in their half-day preschool classes through May.
“So we have preschool programs for 3 and 4-year-old children and we have them at 27 school sites across our district,” said Santos Gonzalez, the district's director of early learning.
The district offers two no-cost preschool programs.
The California State Preschool Program has 160 spots available, and applicants must meet income requirements to qualify. Attendance in the program five days a week is mandatory.
The School Readiness program has space available for about 100 children. There are no income requirements for this four-day-a-week program.
“Although they are academic programs, they are very play-based, which is developmentally appropriate for 3 and 4-year-old children,” Gonzalez said of the preschool programs. “We do reading, mathematics, we do singing together, oral language development — but we also do those intangible skills — making friends, being social, sharing.”
The programs can save families thousands of dollars a year. The cost of full-time preschool in the region is between $800 and $2,000 a month, according to data from YMCA of San Diego County.
District officials said there are more openings in preschool classes this school year because of the expansion of transitional kindergarten in recent years.
Transitional kindergarten — also known as TK — is an all-day program for 4-year-olds, offered at all district elementary school sites.
“Our 3-year-olds obviously have a half-day program; they're not eligible to attend TK,” Gonzalez said. “So families can avail themselves of this free preschool program that is specific for 3-year-olds.”
The preschool classes run for three hours at a time, with mornings and afternoons both offered. People interested can register online through the district’s website.
