MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich. (WXYZ) — Right now, 56 percent of four-year-olds in the state are enrolled in Pre-Kindergarten, with the goal of 75 percent being enrolled by 2027. This year, the state is hoping more parents take advantage of this opportunity.
Like clockwork, Michael O'Banion makes sure his four-year-old is in class at Faith's House in Madison Heights.
"She's learning like- she can actually write her name now," Michael said. "She's not just writing D's and E's everywhere, she's actually learning to write her name, learning to spell, all that stuff."
Last year, his family paid around $10,000. This year, his family and every other family of a four-year-old is paying zero.
"You have more money now so it's good," Michael said.
"Having two kids saving money is always a topic," said parent Nadja Herchenroder.
Their savings are a part of the state's free Pre-School Great Start Readiness Program, or GSRP, a push to get kids ready for Kindergarten.
"He knows his A,B, C's, He can spell words, he can write letters. I think he is ready," Nadja said of her son.
They had no idea the state opened up the income requirement until Faith's House Center Director Faith Kimbrough told them. She says many parents don't.
"They didnt know they qualified, because at first it was just for low-income families," Faith said.
After opening this center three years ago, Faith was able to use a state grant to help partially convert her tuition-based preschool.
"Because I was so small and I had a lot of three year olds, I decided to make a blended class," Faith said. "I was excited, and I got my parents that was already in my program was able just to transfer into GSRP, so they didn't have to pay anything. So they got a free program."
Offering more spots is both helping the state meet their goal of expanding access, and helping her center.
"I have an esc person to help me with the lesson plans," Faith said. ""Make sure that my teacher has a degree now I'm able to pay her and be competitive...so it has impacted my program a great deal. Plus, I get an accountant in Oakland County to help me."
As of this school year, 66,000 four-year-olds are enrolled in the program across the state. While there were waitlists at some program locations, there were also open spaces for students that sat empty.
"We can absolutely find you a spot," said Tammy Arakelian, Early Childhood Education Consultant for Oakland Schools ISD.
This school year, Oakland Schools served 5,108 4-year-old children — a 41% increase from last year — but still had space for nearly 586 more children. For the upcoming school year, they have space for 6,991 students.
This school year, Oakland Schools served a little more than five thousand (5,108) four-year-olds a 41 percent increase from the last year, but had space for nearly 600 more (586). This upcoming school year, they have space for close to seven thousand.
"We feel very successful in being able to fill these spots because we know there's well over 12,000 children in the county that are age eligible for this program. So we know that if we get the word out there and families apply, we will absolutely be able to fill all these 6,991 spots that we have in the county and then we'll add more in July," Tammy said. "It takes the countywide effort and communication for us to be successful, so help your county and let families know."
The application is open and available at this link. You can also find a location in Oakland County at this link. Faith will have four open spots, and is hoping to expand.
"I'm expecting phone calls," she said. "I'm expecting to fill up fast."
