By Gina Holt
Enquirer Contributor

Preschool registration begins as early as this week at some schools in Boone County, and the competition is fierce.

There are only four strictly preschool facilities in Boone County outside of the public school system, according to a list provided by 4C, a county educational resource center.

Public schools only offer preschool to "at-risk" children, so parents of other preschoolers in booming Boone are jockeying for slots.

Amie Humphrey, director of Kids Day Out Preschool, located at Christ United Methodist Church in Florence, said there aren't enough strictly preschool programs in Boone County.

"There's a need in this community for programs like this," she said, adding most of her parents are stay-at-home moms.

"They are looking for something part time and not in with children who are full time."

Census numbers bear out the increase in demand. The number of children under 5 jumped 56 percent in Boone County in a decade, jumping from 4,675 in 1990 to 7,329 in 2000.

Wanda Piatt and her 4-year-old son Clay moved from Georgia to Hebron in November and were disappointed when she couldn't enroll him in a strictly preschool program because they were full.

"I was surprised there weren't more choices," Piatt said. "They have the daycare/preschools but they are much different."

She found that most of the daycare facilities that offered a preschool were not as structured as she wanted and provided more of a babysitting atmosphere.

Her son was attending a morning preschool in Georgia five days a week.

"He loves going to school," she said. "It's hard being in a new area. That would be a way to meet people. I see how much he was learning and that has just come to a halt.

"This area is much larger than what it has to offer in preschools. The services aren't growing with the community."

Little Red School House does provide all-day childcare but is a certified preschool.

"We try to stress to parents out there shopping for the best preschool that there is a difference between preschool and childcare," said Jan Malley, owner of Little Red School House.

"We offer an all-day preschool and kindergarten program. It is a curriculum where they have report cards and checklists. It's totally different from childcare."

Open registration at Creative Beginnings Christian Preschool, located at Florence United Methodist Church, will take place from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. March 8. Melissa Burnett, director of the school, expects people to arrive as early as 6 or 7 a.m.

"We only had seven spots left when we opened it to the public last year," she said. "By 10 after 9 our 2s and 4s were completely full."

Kids Academy, located at First Church of Christ in Burlington, will hold open registration at 8 a.m. on Feb. 28, but people will arrive much earlier than that.

"Two years ago I got there at 2 a.m.," said Regina Rich, a Florence mother of three. "I was eighth in line at 2 in the morning. We had a set of triplets in front of us."

"Last year people got here at 7:30 the night before," said Kids Academy Director Marie Griesser, adding that the school will fill up within the first 15 minutes of registration. "They came in their van, ate popcorn and watched movies on their VCR. They had a great time.

"I feel bad for the people who don't get in," she added.

The price of the schools offering strictly morning preschool range from $75 to $150 per month depending on the school, the age of the child and the number of days the child attends.

Some of the schools offer programs for 2-year-olds, while all of them offer a 3- and 4-year-old program. Student-teacher ratio is 5:1 for 2-year-olds, 6:1 for 3-year-olds and 7:1 for 4-year-olds.

Programs like Little Red School House have anywhere from 10 to 13 children in a classroom with one teacher or 15 to 18 children with one teacher and one teacher's aide. The cost is approximately $216 per month for 3 mornings a week.

Eight Boone County public elementary schools have a free preschool program but students must qualify to participate.

"In Kentucky, the state-funded part of preschool is designed for at-risk 3- and 4-year-olds, which can mean low-income or students who have disabilities," said Lisa Gross, spokesperson for the Kentucky Department of Education.

"If there are slots left over, then students who are not at risk can also be served with state money."

She said disability could mean several things such as a speech impediment, hearing impairment, lack of social skills, Down syndrome or limitations on physical mobility.

Gross said more people are sending their children to preschool than they did years ago, probably because educators and parents are finding that preschool provides a great benefit.

"Children who go to preschool tend to do better in elementary school," she said.

"Preschool is more of a socialization period. It's learning to differentiate between letters and to write your name. It's teaching the child you go to school every day and the teacher will tell you to do things. It gets them acclimated to the school environment."

Kindergarten, which is not legislatively required in Kentucky, is now considered part of the primary grades in public schools.

A child can enter kindergarten at age 5 but does not have to, according to Gross.

"In Kentucky we don't really have first, second and third grade, we have a primary program. When a child turns 6, they are required to be in school. If you enroll your child (in the public primary program) and your child has not been to kindergarten they will probably be put at the lower level of the primary program."