Hutchinson board hears early-learning update as district adds short-notice VPK seats

Mary Myers Schreiner, Hutchinson Public Schools’ early learning coordinator, told the school board on Feb. 25 that the district’s early-childhood programs are expanding and that a short-notice award of voluntary prekindergarten (VPK) seats allowed the district to serve children who otherwise would have missed the opportunity.

“At the longer day that they're here, kids receive a free school lunch and the program is completely free to students,” Schreiner said, describing the schedule for students enrolled in the extended VPK day. She said the district offered VPK to 16 students and 12 accepted.

Schreiner described Hutchinson’s early-childhood family education (ECFE) classes, open-play sessions and the Play and Learn preschool, and said ECFE fees were adjusted to a sliding scale this year (about $7 per week, up from $6). She reported that the district screened roughly 172 children in 2024–25 as part of the state-required early childhood screening program designed to identify developmental or health concerns before kindergarten entry.

On VPK specifically, Schreiner said the district was initially contacted on Dec. 12 about 10 reallocated seats and had to notify the state by Dec. 19. After matching current students to an eligibility grid (which includes factors such as income guidelines, foster/kinship placement, homelessness, English-learner status and screening-identified risk), the state assigned two additional seats when the district identified more eligible children.

“We were able to shift some of our pathway to early learning scholarships that were awarded to 4 year olds down to 3 year olds, and then we could assign VPK dollars to the 4 year olds,” Schreiner said, explaining how the district placed students on the eligibility grid. She said the program must run at least 350 hours and Hutchinson’s implementation will run about 379.5 hours this year.

Schreiner also outlined registration timelines for the Play and Learn preschool: registration opens March 2, current families may register through March 24 and a community open house is set for March 18; families will be notified by April 20 whether they received a spot. She said the district maintains a lottery when demand exceeds classroom capacity (the district currently operates two preschool classrooms and can accommodate about 96 preschool students overall).

The presentation prompted clarifying questions from board members about transportation eligibility for the additional VPK days and about whether the district tracks how many screened children do not continue into Hutchinson schools; Schreiner said she would follow up with more precise numbers on those points. The board praised the work of staff and community partners who support early-learning programs.

The board did not take a separate vote on the VPK acceptance during the meeting; staff indicated the seats were accepted under the district’s timeline and eligibility process.