Ilyana Bonilla has had her daughter in daycare.

“They did pre-K lessons,” Bonilla said, “but it wasn’t an actual pre-K.”

Bonilla said “it was essential” to register her for kindergarten this fall.

“Daycare, I don’t feel is as regulated and structured as kindergarten would be,” she said. “The lesson plans would be entirely different for her.”

Though parents are not required to send their children to school before the first grade, students who participate in pre-K and kindergarten have been shown to be more likely to succeed academically and graduate high school, are less likely to require academic intervention or special education services, and have stronger emotional and social intelligences, among a slew of other benefits.

The Poughkeepsie City School District encourages positive student outcomes for its youngest learners through an in-depth curriculum that stresses social/emotional, cognitive and language development, while following New York State Education Department standards for instruction. A dual language program beginning at the pre-K level broadens the educational experience for all learners.

The district also accommodates for the busy schedules of area parents and caregivers by offering transportation to and from the Early Learning Center, and breakfast and lunch to students, as well as extended learning sessions before and after school, all free to district families.

Registration is open as the 2024-25 school year approaches. Families can contact the district’s Central Registration Office at 845-437-3480 or centreg@poughkeepsieschools.org, and instructions on how to register, both in English and Spanish, are available on the district site.

“Our pre-K and our kindergarten program has a curriculum very specific so children are learning skills that are preparing them for the next levels of education,” said Nadine Elting-Dargan, principal at the Early Learning Center. “It’s critical that a child participates in a program that is going to lay the foundation. They get the foundation for their letters, numbers, sounds, and things that are going to lead them to reading and math at the first-grade level.”

The district’s Universal Pre-K Program is open to children who are 4 years old on or before Dec. 1 and reside in the school district. The full-day, five-days-a-week program is held at the Early Learning Center, with both traditional and dual language chapters, and six other community partners host pre-K chapters:

• North Star Academy at the Boys and Girls Club on Smith Street.
• Astor Services on Delafield Avenue.
• Day One Early Learning Community on Hooker Avenue.
• Dutchess Community College on Pendell Road.
• Holy Trinity Elementary School on Springside Avenue.
• Holy Trinity Early Childhood Annex on Father Cody Drive.

The program is expanded this year, with more community partners offering classes and more spots available in the dual language program.

All pre-K sites follow New York State learning standards. The district’s program is grounded in early literacy and numeracy research and encourages inquiry and play to support learning, cooperation and social-emotional growth. Instructors focus on kindergarten readiness, with a curriculum that includes letter and sound recognition, language and listening skills, STEAM skills, social/emotional skills and the development of fine motor skills.

“At the pre-K level it’s a lot of exposure to the different genres and content areas that the children work in,” Elting-Dargan said. “They’re exposing them to reading, to writing, teaching them their letters and their sounds. Many children leave writing and reading.”

The kindergarten classes, she said, introduce “more of an expectation of application” of those skills they are building.

Lessons in classrooms incorporate both physical paper and writing tools and technology like iPads and Chromebooks. Each classroom has an enormous interactive screen used not only for teachers to instruct but also for students to acclimate themselves to manipulating technology.

“We live in a tech-savvy world. It’s necessary that we prepare our children for the world that they live in,” Elting-Dargan said.

Program highlights

The dual language program at the Early Learning Center includes an even split of English- and Spanish-speaking students and two teachers – one for each language. The students learn academic content in both languages and family events are held to celebrate and encourage using both as a group.

The program begins at the pre-K level and the goal is for students to be bilingual by the end of sixth grade.

It’s not the only enrichment activity offered to the young learners.

“At the ELC they have specials every day. So, the children get to participate in either art, music, physical education or library, the same as they would in every other elementary school,” Elting-Dargan said. “That’s not something that’s pretty much offered in daycare, because you don’t have a certified music teacher to come in and teach music. We have a certified teacher in all of those areas.”

While a “full day” of instruction stretches six hours, the Early Learning Center also has morning and afternoon learning programs, which expand the available instruction time for some students to 7:30 a.m. to 4:20 p.m.

The ELC also boasts a full library, gymnasium, a new playground and a garden program in which students can learn about – and eat – the healthy foods they plant.

The value of early intervention

Elting-Dargan noted it’s important for certified teachers to begin working with students at as young an age as possible to observe and identify anyone who may need additional support. Early intervention into any hurdles can better prepare a student to hit the first-grade prepared to succeed.

“It’s really critical because we have a lot of families that don’t understand what the norms are, in terms of state standards and the requirements,” she said. “If you only have one child and you’ve never really been around other children you don’t understand if your child has a disability, in some cases. And, we’ve had many cases where there was a disability and the parent just saw it as normal. We’ve been able to share with them that, this is what your child can do, this is what a child the same age in your class can do, and this is where we need to get your child from here to here. And we’re able to identify that child early.”

She pointed out a pre-K or kindergarten program establishes for a child how it feels to move through a regimented day in which different lessons and activities are planned.

“They are creatures who love structure. They thrive in structure,” she said. “The more structured we are, the more they thrive.”