Sisters Elementary preschool has openings

The preschool conducted by Sisters Elementary School and funded through Oregon’s Preschool Promise Grant is still accepting applications from qualified families.

The preschool has hired teachers and is ready for students, but the opening has been delayed for a few weeks due to a backlog in the Early Learning Hub’s ability to process applications for Sisters and other schools in the region, according to Mylee Card, lead teacher of the preschool.

Card has been working with principal Joan Warburg to reach out to families known to qualify for the program, which targets 4-year-olds. At the October 7 school board meeting, Warburg said that she is aware of at least 18 families that could take part in the program.

The preschool is free to qualified families.

According to Card, Sisters has one student fully enrolled and five others that have applications under review.

“We are ready to go with these first six,” she said. “Our goal is to ultimately have 18 students and we hope to open October 19 once the five applications being processed are approved.”

According to Card, the preschool will run from 8:45-2:30 Monday through Friday and the staff and facilities are prepared to meet all COVID-19 guidelines. Card noted that this age group is not required to wear masks, but they are optional.

The Preschool Promise program is overseen by the Oregon Early Learning Division (OELD), which is a branch of the Oregon Department of Education.

Warburg also acknowledged at the board meeting that qualified families may have enrolled in other programs in Sisters which opened in September, while others may be not fully aware that they qualify for this free program.

Interested families can contact Sisters Elementary at 541-549-8981, visit the front page of the elementary school website (linked from www.ssd6.org), or go directly to the links listed below.

The basic standard for qualifying economically is children in families who are living at 200 percent of the poverty level.

According to the OELD website (https://oregonearlylearning.com/preschool-promise), the Preschool Promise “is a model for a publicly funded, high-quality preschool system.”

Links to enroll in the Sisters Elementary Preschool are: https://forms.gle/Q3QmTdfibF3iy8mA9; or Spanish: https://forms.gle/fTeamNPDbK9J2Co1A.