The Juneau School District will expand its preschool programs this school year and enrollment is still open.
The district’s new interim superintendent, Bridget Weiss, appeared Wednesday on “A Juneau Afternoon” to talk about the start of the new school year.
The district’s Kinder Ready program will now have sites in the Mendenhall Valley, she said.
“We know that early intervention pays off, so if we’re going to commit a dollar to education, the earlier we do it the more we get for that dollar,” Weiss said.
The program runs Tuesday through Friday throughout the school year in morning, afternoon or full-day sessions.
The district ran the program out of Harborview Elementary School last year.
Thanks to additional funding from the Juneau Assembly, the program will now exist at Mendenhall River Community School and Glacier Valley Elementary as well.
“We have some room for sure left in each of those places, and so if anybody is interested they can call either Mendenhall River, Glacier Valley or Harborview and we’ll get them steered in the right direction,” Weiss said.
The cost of the program is $200 per month for half-day sessions or $400 for full-day sessions. Scholarships also are available to families with economic need.
Preschool classes start Aug. 28.
