Monomoy Launches New Pre-K Program At CES

CHATHAM – The Monomoy Regional School District will launch a new full-day pre-kindergarten program in the fall designed to support families in Chatham and Harwich.

 The program, dubbed “Pups Pre-K,” is open to students from both towns ages 3 and 4 and will be held at Chatham Elementary School in a single mixed-age classroom.

 The program is dependent on the district budget passing at town meetings in both communities as well as school officials being able to hire a qualified teacher. 

 “Pups” grew out of several needs assessments and public forums that led school officials to conclude that “there is a need to expand and augment existing pre-kindergarten programming in our area,” Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Robin Millen wrote in an email. 

 At forums held during development of the school district’s 2024-2028 strategic plan, participants expressed the need for a full-day, full school year pre-kindergarten program. That led to a goal in the plan to promote early literacy development through partnerships with families, caregivers, early childhood providers and community organizations; identify systemic inequalities that contribute to achievement disparities; and allocate resources to meet these goals.

 Additionally, a goal in the district’s state-required Student Opportunity Act plan identified the need for an evidence-based program to address disparities in learning experiences and outcomes for different student groups, according to Millen.

 Millen and CES Principal Jen Kelly met with early childhood education providers in the community to assess the needs they are seeing among local families; they also consulted with the Monomoy Early Childhood Council to determine if earlier needs assessments focusing on early childhood education were still relevant, Millen said. 

 “In the end we confirmed that there was a need for this type of programming,” she wrote in the email. When school officials determined that the existing integrated pre-school program would be held at Harwich Elementary School, they saw the opportunity to institute the new program at CES.

 The new program is different from the existing integrated preschool program run at Harwich Elementary School. That program is geared toward special education students who are enrolled with an equal number of non-special education peers. The Pups program “is not structured to service students with disabilities; rather it will work to support students and families with a different set of needs,” said Millen.

 Those needs include low income, housing insecurities and challenges with accessing existing pre-kindergarten programs. 

 The full-day (6.5 hours), five-day-a-week program follows the regular school schedule, with students having access to free lunch as well as “wrap-around” services such as dental care, the Outer Cape Health Navigator, family counseling and other family support services. Transportation will be provided.

 Hiring a full-time teacher and assistant are the main costs of the program, Millen said. Much of the curriculum material and services already exist at the elementary school.

 The program will be capped at 20 students, Millen said, and is open to all students in Harwich and Chatham. If more than 20 students apply, participants will be chosen by lottery. To learn more and to enroll, visit www.monomoy.edu/pups and fill out the form found there. The deadline to submit the application form is April 30. If a lottery is necessary, it will be held May 1.