St. Cloud schools report preschool gains, outline pilots to cut wait list

At the June 18, 2025, meeting of the St. Cloud Area Schools Board of Education, district early‑childhood staff reported assessment gains for preschool students and laid out programs and pilots intended to expand birth‑to‑5 services and reduce long wait lists.

The presentation was given by Nikki Hanson, assistant superintendent of E5 learning; Kate Flynn, director of early childhood; and Bridal Davis, early childhood administrative dean. Flynn told the board the district uses a “holistic comprehensive approach” for families and children from birth to age 5 and described the array of programs that make up that work, including early childhood screening, birth‑to‑3 home visiting, Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE), preschool (threes and fours), a district evaluation team and early childhood special educators.

The update matters because the district serves a large early‑learning population and staff described measurable movement on literacy and readiness benchmarks after district teachers participated in LETRS/science‑of‑reading training. Flynn said that, for the cohort discussed, fall screening showed 66 percent of assessed four‑year‑olds below expectations, about 34 percent meeting expectations and 0.2 percent exceeding expectations. After classroom implementation of science‑of‑reading practices, spring reassessment showed about 74 percent meeting expectations, about 10 percent exceeding expectations and 17 percent remaining below expectations.

District staff attributed part of the improvement to focused teacher professional development and planned curriculum alignment. Flynn said the district will work to “integrate what we learn and implementation” of the LETRS content into preschool practice for the 2025–26 school year.

Key program and capacity details presented to the board:
- Preschool enrollment in 2024–25: 853 total students (338 three‑year‑olds, 520 four‑year‑olds).
- Birth‑to‑3 staff: 11 teachers currently; district plans to expand to 13 for 2025–26 to meet growing service demand.
- Referrals and evaluations: staff reported more than 555 Part C (0–3) referrals this year, with about 287 qualifying for birth‑to‑3 services; the district’s evaluation team received about 874 referrals across Part C and Part B (3–5).
- Preschool for Success/Rotary partnership: Rotary funds 50 percent of three preschool classrooms (Madison, Oak Hill, and the Talahi/Lincoln boundary) with the district funding the remainder plus transportation.
- Ready, Set, School pilot: the district said Ready, Set, School will be piloted in 23 classrooms next year; Flynn said the goal is to supply classroom teacher totes with school supplies so families are not responsible for that cost.
- A new Friday “pre‑K” pilot: the district will use six teachers who were “grandfathered” on Monday–Thursday contracts to offer an additional one‑day preschool session on Fridays aimed at freeing space for about 60 children from the wait list.
- Nature‑based programming: the district is piloting nature‑based lessons in partnership with Avon Hills Folk School at Westwood and Quarry View Education Center and said the Westwood site is being used to reduce long round‑trip transportation to offsite programming.

Board members asked for comparative data and clarification on referrals. Heather (board member) asked whether district staff had comparison data from earlier years; Flynn and Hanson said the district uses TS‑Gold for preschool assessment each year and that staff would review previous cohorts to provide context. Hanson said the district looks at cohorts as students move through kindergarten and cited an enrollment example: the cohort size comparison suggested some children who did not experience preschool are visible in kindergarten class sizes this year.

Board members also pressed staff on access. Natalie Copeland, board member, said the number of children who could not secure preschool seats continues to be a worry and praised teacher retention; district presenters explained the Friday pilot and other operational changes were developed in coordination with teacher leaders and the union to provide additional seats while staying fiscally prudent.

No board action was requested; the item was an information update. Staff said they will continue to report follow‑up data as pilots proceed and as the district refines implementation of LETRS‑informed curriculum changes.

Ending: Flynn invited board members to visit early‑childhood sites and the ECFE Expo planned for Sept. 6, 2025, to see programming and family engagement events in person.