Although it won’t start until August 2023, families are already lining up to get their children on the waiting list to attend the Festus R-6 Early Childhood Education Program.
This program is for families living within the Festus R-6 School District. Services are for children ages 3-5.
Samantha Mouser, who is coordinating the program but will be director when the program launched, said there was already a long waiting list. Wee Care Learning Center) and hopes to accommodate a little over 100 children.
“As of today[October 7]there are 252 children on the waiting list,” Mouser said. “We have not yet started offering registrations.”
She said that step would likely take place in late March 2023.
There’s already a long list, but Mouser said he’s telling anyone who makes an inquiry to put their child’s name on the waiting list.
“If a spot opens[before them]we’ll put them on the program,” she said.
The Festus R-6 is starting the ECE program from scratch.
The district purchased the Wee Care facility from Wee 5, LLC in December 2021 for $3.4 million. The purchase included his five acres of land for the company, his existing 20,460-square-foot building, and all of the furniture, including tables, desks, and play equipment.
The Festus R-6 School Board approved Mouser as the district’s ECE Coordinator/Director in February and has been overseeing the preparation of the program.
“Our current goal is to have six to eight teachers in the program,” she said. “We are still making decisions. Based on (the number of students in the program), we will determine the number of teachers we need.
“When we started, we weren’t at capacity. We’re over 100 – that’s guaranteed. We’ll continue to build the program year after year.”
R-6 communications and special projects coordinator Kevin Pope said district officials are focused on meeting needs.
“We will try to serve as many students as possible,” Pope said.
The amount is not set, but the family pays the fee.
“There will be costs, but they have not yet been decided,” the Pope said. “It will be affected by state funding and student numbers.”
In addition to preparing the building, the district is testing potential students, Mauser said.
“We have started screening students on the waiting list,” she said. “The screenings held here (at the program facility) are run by parents as teachers.”
She said she is researching existing ECE programs in the area.
“I’ve been doing tours around local early childhood education centers to see what can help our community,” said Mouser.
The Pope said renovations to the facility are continuing.
“We still have work to do,” he said. “No major renovations.”
The ECE program is for children ages 3-5 through kindergarten, but with restrictions.
“[For classes starting in August 2023]they must be three years old by July 31, 2023,” Mauser said. “It will be a waitlist factor.
The Festus R-6 program offers morning and afternoon sessions Monday through Friday. There are morning sessions from 8:30-11:30 AM and afternoon sessions from 12:30-3:30 PM. Follow the school calendar.
ECE programs differ from daycares in that they are more educational-oriented, says Mouser.
“It will be early childhood education and early childhood special education,” she said. “We require our teachers to be dual-certified. Our curriculum follows Missouri’s Early Childhood Learning Standards, known as MELS.
“We have a structured curriculum taught by certified teachers to ensure our students are ready for kindergarten,” said Mouser.
For more information or to put your child on the waiting list, call the R-6 Early Childhood Center at 636-465-0395 or visit the district’s website at festus.k12.mo.us.
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