Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
15 <br /> <br /> <br />SAPFO is also used guide to initiate the construction of new school facilities. If Pre-K students <br />were included in the school capacity calculation, the projected need for new school facilities <br />would accelerate. When the impact of including Pre-K students is combined with the impact of <br />elementary class size reductions mandated under State law, additional capacity is suggested <br />for <br />Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools in the 2021-22 school year and in Orange County Schools in <br />the 2024-25 school year. <br /> <br />As a way to avoid development limitations, the Boards also discussed a more informal process <br />to reflect Pre-K students that would not result in determinations of insufficient capacity. This <br />could be accomplished without a formal amendment to the Schools Adequate Public Facilities <br />Memorandum of Understanding or the Schools Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance. <br />CHCCS: <br /> <br />Pre-Kindergarten Programming <br />The mission of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) Pre-K/Head Start Program, in <br />partnership with families and the community, is to provide high quality, developmentally <br />appropriate early childhood education, which will meet the diverse needs of all children and <br />prepare them for a positive educational experience. The district currently serves over 260 <br />students in traditional, blended and adaptive prekindergarten classrooms. Younger students <br />being served under the Exceptional Children’s program are eligible to enroll in pre-kindergarten <br />classrooms as early as age three. <br />The purpose of the CHCCS Pre-K/Head Start is to support students, families and the Local <br />Education Agency (LEA) in preparing students for success in education and in life. Our program <br />presents a heavy focus on social emotional learning along with playbased pre-literacy and math <br />skills. Many of our students come from low socioeconomic backgrounds, have disabilities, or <br />other factors that could impede learning. Given this demographic, we serve to identify and build <br />strengths to support learning for the whole child. <br /> <br />Pre-K serves children age three to five years of age, not yet eligible for kindergarten, in the <br />areas of Education, Family Partnerships, Mental Health, Disabilities, Health, Safety, Nutrition, <br />and Dental Care. <br /> <br />Pre-K operates 180 school days from 8:00-2:30 and extended care is available (7:30-8 <br />and 2:30-5:30). Pre-K is funded through Head Start, North Carolina state funded Pre- K <br />Program/Smart Start (NC Pre-K) and local tuition dollars. <br /> <br />Applications for Pre-K/Head Start programs are accepted on a year-round basis. Children who <br />are three or four years old by August 31st are eligible to apply. Interested families must <br />complete an application and provide supporting documentation. <br />Applications are reviewed and screened and eligibility for Head Start, Smart <br />Start/NCPK, Exceptional Children’s Program (EC), Subsidy or Tuition is determined based on <br />income and risk factors. Tuition and Subsidy placements are lottery-based. <br />Children who are not selected through the lottery process will be placed on a waiting list. Head <br />Start and Smart Start/NC Pre-K placements are need-based. If enrollment at all sites is full, <br />accepted applications will be placed on the waiting list. Once the selection process is <br />completed, families will be notified of their child’s application status. In efforts to reach families <br />in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, flyers are created and distributed in 4 different languages: Karen, <br />Burmese, Spanish, and English. Outreach takes place through churches, shelters, apartment