Georgetown County school leaders are planning to add more full-day pre-kindergarten classes for local elementary schools starting next school year.

Dr. Randy Dozier, superintendent of local schools, said at a recent School Board meeting that district staff is planning to explore ways to add these classes during this budget season.

Currently, all nine of our elementary schools have pre-kindergarten classes for 4-year-olds, but only two of them have full-day programs: Plantersville and Andrews elementary schools.

Each full-day pre-kindergarten class serves 20 students.

Half-day programs serve 40 students, with a morning class and an afternoon class.

Patti Hammel, executive director for student performance and federal programs for the Georgetown County School District, said the district’s goal is to serve all eligible 4-year-olds in a full-day program.

“Eligibility requirements prioritize the way students are accepted,” Hammel said. “They include developmental needs, the socioeconomic level of the family and other determiners.”

She said the district is now seeking partnerships with existing agencies and search for any grant opportunities.

Len Oliver, the pre-kindergarten teacher at Waccamaw Elementary School, has taught both half-day classes, which she does now, and full-day classes.

She says pre-kindergarten is very important for our schools.

“It provides a huge dose of experience and it lays a foundation for success in the school years,” Oliver said.

Hammel said the district is now focussing on having more full-day programs for 4-year-olds.

“It seems to be more beneficial in closing the achievement gap early on when children haven’t had advantages of interacting with numbers and letters,” Hammel said.

School Board member Teresa Bennani, who has been the main pre-kindergarten advocate on the board, agreed that these classes are very important.

“A lot of data supports that a quality pre-k experience makes a child more successful in the long run, saving taxpayers millions of dollars,” Bennani said.

Madeleine C. Ritchie, an educational consultant in Pawleys Island who is very active in the Early Learning Initiative, said students who are ready when they enter school see man benefits.

“Studies show that if children get quality instruction-based child care, when they get to school they have fewer retentions, fewer children in special education, have many fewer teenage pregnancies, and less incarceration and dropouts, which leads to a much better quality workforce,” Ritchie said.

“It has long-term, long-reaching effects.”

By Clayton Stairs

cstairs@gtowntimes.com