WATERLOO -- Two new preschool classrooms are being added to Waterloo Community Schools this fall, although they won't require the district to come up with any extra space.

The Board of Education Monday approved contracts with Blessed Sacrament Catholic and Immanuel Lutheran preschools to serve district 4-year-olds free of charge. There are no income guidelines for families enrolling children. The preschools will each serve up to 18 children.

"We're just very, very excited because the access to quality preschool is increasing in our community," said Denise Schares, associate superintendent for educational and student services. "Our goal is to provide quality early childhood programming to as many children as possible." She noted that such partnerships with private providers are what make that possible.

Schares said the two preschools were chosen because they were the only ones that expressed interest in contracting with the district after an invitation was extended through the Child Care Resource and Referral database.

Board members also renewed contracts with four other private preschools. Grin and Grow, Learn and Play, A to Z early childhood centers and Community United Child Care Center first signed contracts with the district a year ago.

The six preschools will each provide 10 hours of early childhood education per week meeting the state's quality standards. Up to 108 students will be served between the six.

Even though the newly added preschools are operated by churches, the district can contract with them, according to information on the Iowa Department of Education's Web site. Religious- based preschools must ensure that instruction supported by the funds is "secular, neutral and nonideological." Such preschools also must ensure that children are not compelled to participate in any religious instruction or activity and that public funds are not used to support religious instruction.

Blessed Sacrament, Immanuel Lutheran, Grin and Grow and Community United will provide an endorsed early childhood teacher. Learn and Play and A to Z will receive itinerant services. An endorsed district preschool teacher will work on-site 10 hours per week so the centers can meet the state's quality standards. Learn and Play is located in Evansdale, all the other preschools are in Waterloo.

The district will reimburse the centers for the costs, enabling them to provide 10 hours of early childhood services at no charge each week. Those receiving itinerant services will be reimbursed $12.50 per day for each participating child. The other four providers will be reimbursed $3,200 per child for the school year.

Contracts renewed Monday were first signed a year ago after the district received a $332,000 state grant to increase access to quality 4-year-old preschool. The grants were part of a statewide initiative that will eventually make free 4-year-old preschool universally available. Funding this year will be based on a state formula that uses student enrollment levels as of Oct. 1 last year.

Schares said the district will receive $3,200 this year for every child who enrolled in the free preschool program last fall. That included 84 children, which will bring a total of $268,800 to the district.

That grant also allowed the district to open two preschool classrooms last year in the former Elk Run Elementary School, also at no charge to families who enroll a child. There is room for up to 144 4-year-olds this fall in the district's free preschool program.

In addition, five existing Head Start and special needs preschool classrooms moved into the Elk Run Heights center. The district also operates a number of preschool classrooms at other elementary schools that have eligibility guidelines. They are part of the Head Start, Title I and First Touch programs. Schares said the district has room for 508 preschool students this fall in the programs it is involved with.

Contact Andrew Wind

at (319) 291-1507 or

andrew.wind@wcfcourier.com.