By Joe Jarosz
Northeast News
February 18, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Families in Columbus Park and the surrounding areas will soon have another option for preschool.

The YMCA of Greater Kansas City, in partnership with Head Start, are set to introduce a new preschool program for area families. Last week, an open house was held at the location, 1100 E. Fourth St., to introduce the program to the neighborhood. Patty Lucas, senior program director for the YMCA of Greater Kansas City, said the plan to introduce a new classroom dedicated for preschool has been in the works for the past two years.

“There hasn’t been a classroom here [at this location] for a couple of years,” Lucas said. “So, we’ve been talking about it for a while, coming over and opening a classroom here.”

Suzee Schulz-Marks, education coordinator at the Columbus Park YMCA, said the class is for children ages three to five-years-old. Because of the partnership with Head Start, the preschool is free for low-income families.

“We’re excited about this location because of the diversity that lives around here,” Schulz-Marks said.

Lucas added that the YMCA has been working with the Don Bosco English as a Second Language Center at St. Anthony’s to work with a lot of refugee families in the area.

“By working with Don Bosco and the Jewish Vocational Services, we’re all looking out for the needs of the refugee families,” Lucas said, adding Head Start respects the home language and will talk with families through interpreters.

Susan Knittle, Vice President of Early Education YMCA of Greater Kansas City, said the classroom came about because of communication with representatives at Don Bosco.

“We knew these classrooms were empty, so we decided to spiff them up and offer services down here,” Knittle said.

According to the YMCA’s website, the Head Start curriculum is based on sound early-child education principles and developmentally appropriate practices. The class will be held Monday – Thursday and broken into two half-day programs, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. Both programs will be provided a meal. The program will typically go through the school year, as well. Coordinators said they’d like to start around March 1, 2015. Transportation, however, will not be provided to families at this point in time.

For the children, there will be different learning centers that will be available. Schulz-Marks noted that the classroom is divided up to include areas dedicated to math, science, dramatic play, art and an area dedicated for a, “safe spot if they have strong emotions.” There are also computers, smart boards and a playground readily available to the children.

“There’s opportunity for learning and growth in all different areas,” Schulz-Marks said. “

Parents who were unable to attend the open house and would like more information on the preschool program can visit the location or call 816-214-9748.