Worcester County Public Schools expands pre-k programs with grant funding

WORCESTER COUNTY, Md. – “We had 50 kids before we knew it. We knew we only had 40 slots if we got to the grant and 20 if we did not,” Welch said.

Buckingham Elementary Principal Chris Welch says expanding their Pre-K programming has been a big need. Now, grant funding from the Maryland State Department of Education is making that a reality. “There’s good literacy, there’s good mathematics, we have developmentally appropriate centers, and we also have a real solid social and emotional component,” Welch said.

The grant targets the county’s three Title-1 schools which see high percentages of children from low-income families. Those include Snow Hill Elementary, Buckingham Elementary, and Pocomoke Elementary schools.

The money will support new curriculum, equipment, teacher salaries, and more for the 2023-2034 academic year. “We knew that the best place for many of the kids would be at our schools, feeding them our programs with our curriculum and our certified teachers,” Worcester County Public Schools Chief Academic Officer Grades Pre K3-8 Denise Shorts said.

Welch tells us that leadership chose Frog Street as the curriculum package which has shown benefits supporting student’s social and emotional needs.

Yet, Welch says the additional financial support won’t solve every problem. “That still leaves Buckingham Elementary School with about 15 students that will be on some kind of waitlist,” Welch said.

That’s why Shorts says they’re looking to the Worcester County Commissioners for additional support, requesting around $600,000 for 2024-2025 academic year in fear that the grant may not be renewed.

Shorts tells 47ABC it’s the school system’s top priority to make sure families have access to rich learning opportunities. “If not, we will have to examine in those three schools whether due to attrition, meaning someone possibly retiring in that school, that we could go ahead and fund that with existing funds or what we need to do moving forward,” Shorts said.

Welch tells us they’re looking to collaborate with local childcare centers to connect more families with programming.

Worcester County Commissioners have not yet voted on this matter.