This pre-K program has a surprising benefactor — and so much success others may try it

Little hands were everywhere to cap a recent week at Preschool 4 Success, a program that provides special preparation for at-risk 4-year-olds in the St. Cloud school district.

A couple of girls splashed with toys in a water play table, another played with dolls near a window. Two boys worked on a giant puzzle in the middle of the room, and several children crowded around a table armed with crayons and paper.

A teacher and a paraprofessional kept a semblance of order while several adult volunteers perched here and there on impossibly tiny chairs to get at the same level as the kids.

What was on display in the morning and again in the afternoon four days a week at three different elementary buildings is the culmination of a four-year partnership with the Rotary Club of St. Cloud. Since the program launched in 2021, the Rotarians have raised more than $400,000 to fund it — an amount matched by St. Cloud Area School District.

Those involved say Preschool 4 Success has had a priceless impact on children who likely wouldn’t be ready for kindergarten otherwise, and they have the statistics to prove it.

But as the Rotary commitment nears its end, future classes could depend on a bill before the Legislature that not only would expand access in St. Cloud but also might showcase potential benefits to other communities looking to close achievement gaps of their own.

“It’s really an opportunity gap and an economic gap,” said Gary Marsden, a retired former executive at Marco Technologies and Rotary co-chair of the program, who got a rousing response when he handed out paint supplies for the kids to take home last week. “Why are so many children not ready for kindergarten? That’s what we’ve been trying to address.”

Those who participated in Preschool 4 Success in the past two years — the kids now in kindergarten and first grade — are 16% more likely to be on-target in early reading skills and 11% more successful in math than those who didn’t. Studies have shown that children who attend preschool are 20% more likely to graduate high school.

About half the kindergartners in St. Cloud participate in a preschool program — not counting federally funded Head Start, which also works with low-income families but is now facing a funding freeze and mass layoffs.

Preschool 4 Success goes a step further, getting those kids — many of whom are English-language learners — into the schools they’ll attend in the future and teaching them an integrated curriculum with district staff. Some lessons are as simple as how to take turns with a set of blocks, something Hansen encouraged on a classroom visit while sitting on the floor between two boys on the verge of an argument.

“So much of kindergarten is learning how to be a good peer and a good friend along with the numbers, letters and everything else,” she said. “Sharing is a tough skill to learn if you don’t have a peer to interact with.”

Preschool typically costs about $250 a month per student for families in the St. Cloud school district to cover staffing and transportation. While some individuals and businesses in St. Cloud will still contribute to Preschool 4 Success in the future, and the district has enough resources to continue it next year, the plan was to pilot the program and find more permanent sources of funding.

“It’s a really small investment for huge accomplishment,” said Putnam, who brought the bill before the Health and Human Services committee on March 26. “In the context of the state budget … it’s not a lot of money and the results have tremendous consequences on young people that pay off later in their education and their lives.

“One of the reasons I’m pushing this is because I want the rest of the state to know how we’re doing. This type of program can be configured to any particular area and carried out in different ways. It’s been a great public-private collaboration.”

Amy Trombley was at the heart of that. She got involved as vice president of education with the United Way of Central Minnesota, where she worked with local businesses to support the Rotary project. In February, she moved into a new role as vice president for community with the Initiative Foundation and continues to testify at the Legislature in support of Preschool 4 Success.

“The data doesn’t lie,” Trombley said. “There’s a $16 return on investment for every dollar spent on early childhood education for at-risk kids. We believe in building better humans right away in their formative years than to try and fix things down the line. You don’t see that ROI immediately. … But now they know how to hold a pencil the right way or they understand how to use scissors. It’s hard for some people to see the connection with economic development and community investment, but it’s there in the long run.”

Preschool 4 Success is the latest in a string of successful pilot programs for the Rotary Club of St. Cloud. Its Pathways 4 Youth, which supports those ages 16-24 at risk of being homeless, has been assumed by Lutheran Social Service. The Rotarians also introduced Summertime by George, a weekly free concert and festival series near Lake George that has been replicated in other cities.

Despite Minnesota’s reputation for education, the state ranks 37th nationally in access to preschool. Iowa and Wisconsin, which provide funding for statewide preschool, rank fifth and seventh, respectively.