Howell Township school officials outline plans for new pre-K learning centers coming to town
Changes are coming to the Howell Township Public Schools with the conversion of two elementary schools into early learning centers. Howell Township Public Schools was awarded a grant of nearly $2.3 million to launch the program within five years, making it the first school district in this area to take advantage of the award.
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Changes are coming to the Howell Township Public Schools with the conversion of two elementary schools into early learning centers.
Plans were outlined at Wednesday night’s board meeting and included new student attendance and geographic boundaries as the district prepares to offer free pre-K to around 900 3- and 4-year-olds in the school district.
Howell Township Public Schools was awarded a grant of nearly $2.3 million to launch the program within five years, making it the first school district in this area to take advantage of the award.
Adelphia and Newbury Schools will both transition to preschool education. The eight remaining schools will take on grades K through 5. Middle Schools North and South will remain the same.
RELATED: 2 Howell elementary schools to be turned into early learning centers for toddlers
"We’re trying real hard to get this done as quickly as possible so parents have enough time to adjust to their new schools for September,” said Howell School Superintendent Joe Isola.
The move has been mostly met with excitement. However, geographical boundary changes were contentious for some. Chris Hoenig is a Howell parent and says he is feeling more at ease after Wednesday night's board meeting.
"We didn’t know where we were going to end up. The proof-of-concept maps had us up in Ardena in the northern part of town, so cautiously optimistic…I commend the administration for the amount of time they put into it and how much they’ve listened,” Hoening says.
A community interaction meeting will be held Nov. 28 at Middle School North at 6:30 p.m. In-person registration for free pre-K will begin Dec. 5 at the Adelphia School.
