School Services

There are different types of School Services offered in the way of Child Care. Some parents do not merely want their child babysat and socialized during the day. While those are noble goals, many parents feel that education is also very important. Consider your child’s level of development and whether or not you want to use a School Service.

Pre-K and Kindergarten

In operation since 2002, the Nevada Early Childhood Education Comprehensive Plan (ECE) was established to fund new pre-kindergarten education programs in the state and to expand existing programs. In order to receive funding, each provider must tailor a program to meet demonstrated needs of the host community and develop detailed eligibility criteria. All ECE programs are required to provide additional services to parents, including parenting education and opportunities for parent involvement.

The ECE program provides services to children from birth to age five and most programs give priority to children from low-income families. All teachers must be licensed and are paid on the school salary scale, regardless of program location.

One program that benefits from public funding is Classrooms on Wheels (COW). This unique program began in 1992 and continues to serve the community by providing a mobile, free, bi-lingual preschool with a parenting development course and an accredited drug prevention program: Beginning Addictions Basic Education System COW services 23 neighborhoods in Clark County, which benefits 414 at-risk preschoolers who otherwise would not be receiving an education until they entered the public school system.

Full-Day Kindergarten

According to the most recent data from the Clark County School District, there are 416 all-day kindergarten classrooms with approximately 11,000 students. The results from the Full- Day/Extended Day Longitudinal Kindergarten Study indicated that full-day kindergarten contributed to closing the achievement gap.

Full-day kindergarten is not expressly required or prohibited by statute in Nevada. Districts may offer full-day kindergarten, but children are not required to attend. Nevada provides the same level of funding for both half-day and full-day kindergarten. For more information on early childhood programs, visit the Nevada Department of Education at www.doe.nv.gov.

Kathleen Shippen  Home Connect America, Real Estate, Las Vegas, NV