West Springfield, MA: Superintendent Stefania Raschilla has announced that the West Springfield Public Schools will be expanding its full-day pre-Kindergarten (“pre-K”) program for the 2024-2025 school year. Three full day pre-K classrooms were piloted during the 2023-2024 school year, which will be increased to eight full day pre-K classrooms in the District for the upcoming school year.
Prior to 2023, the District only offered half day pre-K options for students under the age of five. During this past school year, the District piloted three full day classrooms at John Ashley School. Due to the success of the pilot, the program will be expanded to add two additional pre-K classrooms at John Ashley and three full day pre-K classrooms at Coburn Elementary School, for a total of eight full day pre-K classrooms across the District.
Although the full day program’s availability will more than double for the upcoming school year, spots are still limited and selections for next year’s enrollment will be done using a lottery system. The application for the 2024-2025 school year opened on April 5th and will close on April 19th. Selections will be made by April 29th and families will be notified that week.
West Springfield, in collaboration with other community preschools, is in the process of assembling a Preschool Task Force to work through the logistics of universal full day pre-K to make this highly sought after offering available for all residents of West Springfield.
“I could not be more thrilled that we are expanding our full-day pre-K programs,” Mayor Will Reichelt (who also serves as the Chair of the School Committee) commented. “I commend Superintendent Raschilla for making the push for full-day pre-K when she started here last year. The success of the pilot is a testament to the administration and staff who made this program possible.”
