Coeur d’Alene to address childcare shortage with new preschool program

When Jamie Lenz became a parent, she knew she was lucky.

Her family lived in the area for five generations, and she had lots of help to watch her baby while she worked for the Coeur d’Alene School District as the director of before- and after-school programs. But she also wanted her son, Kentucky, in preschool to better prepare him for kindergarten.

“I want him to go into the class. I want him to hang up his backpack,” Lenz said.

It took her months to find the right fit for a part-time preschool where she could safely send her son, who has allergies. It was expensive, but to Lenz it was worth it.

That experience, and the dire need for child care in general in North Idaho, inspired Lenz to lead the charge in expanding the School Plus program to a full-time day care with a “learning hour” for families like hers.

The Coeur d’Alene School Board unanimously approved the Early Plus program, that will have 55 total seats, on Monday evening.

The new program will ensure more students are kindergarten-ready, and serve as a recruitment and retention tool for teachers and district employees, the trustees hope.

The lack of quality child care and preschool is a problem statewide, said Martin Balben, director of strategic initiatives at the Idaho Association for the Education of Young Children.

Idaho doesn’t fund preschool, so most districts only have a small development preschool for students who qualify for special education services, that is largely funded by federal dollars. Districts are required to provide special education services for children ages 3 to 22, according to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Idahoans may get funds to help offset the cost of day care through the Idaho Child Care Program (ICCP), but that program largely gets its dollars from the federal Child Care and Development Fund.

In rural areas, the lack of child care is exacerbated with day cares unable to consistently make ends meet. That can lead to teachers and other school professionals moving away when they start a family, something even Coeur d’Alene worries about with the high cost of living and teacher wages that don’t compete with Washington just a few miles away.

‘Preschool is an age, not a place’

Early childhood education happens in a variety of environments, from in-home care centers to district-run preschool programs; any program that educates and takes care of children before they’re school-aged is part of one ecosystem.

“Preschool is an age, not a place,” Balben said.

Nationwide, market-driven child care is the primary avenue for families, but it’s difficult to make a profit in child care with significant safety requirements and student-teacher ratios, among other systemic issues.

Toddler classes, where one teacher can be responsible for about 10 children, often subsidize the care for infants, who need a 1-to-1 or 2-to-1 ratio of caregivers.

Child care workers are often underpaid, making about $10 an hour, according to the 2022 First Five Years Fund nationwide study.

Infant care at a child care center costs more than $8,000 a year, an unaffordable price for many families.

Budget cuts to the ICCP program last year made it even more difficult for child care centers to stay open, the Idaho Capital Sun reported.

As of 2023, Idaho is one of three states that doesn’t fund child care programs, according to the Idaho First Steps Alliance.

Nearly 50% of Idaho residents live in a child care desert, according to the First Five Years Fund study.

With all those factors, school districts see an opportunity to jump in and help fix the problem, but it’s not as simple as opening a preschool, Balben said.

If a school district opens a preschool for children ages 2 and up, it could close private day cares, making the problem worse.

“It can become an unintended consequence,” Balben said.

Funding a preschool is also a problem because state education funds can’t be used for that purpose, so districts piece together grants, levy dollars and donations to make it work.

“You have to be a hustler to do this,” Balben said.

The AEYC has 25 early learning collaboratives statewide that help local child care providers and stakeholders think about the preschool system as a whole to expand and fill needs in a way that works for the whole community.

Developmental preschools first place to expand

The Coeur d’Alene Early Learning Center has been around for years to serve students with special needs.

Principal Jenny Jensen said she loves to see the students’ growth throughout their time at the center, from ages 3 to 5.

The program is paid for with a mix of federal, state and local funds. Students must have qualifying developmental delays or disabilities. It currently serves about 90 students across three sessions: morning, midday and afternoon.

After the school district closed Borah Elementary School last year, the program moved into Borah’s building from a small church building the district was renting.

The difference is huge, Jensen said. The classrooms at Borah are spacious with multiple bathrooms, compared to the one all students and staff shared in their prior building.

There’s a small teachers lounge and enough space for a sensory classroom where occupational and physical therapists often work with students. Speech language pathologists also have their own classroom to work with students.

“We do see a wide range of disabilities and skills,” Jensen said. “Early intervention, I feel like, is the key.”

Students have an Individual Education Plan and work with staff early on in small groups. As they age, the older classrooms focus on preparing for traditional kindergarten.

“The more time we can spend with them, more time we can have to get them ready for that big change,” said Frank Maier, the district’s special education director. “We have those sort of transition meetings to get that, not only to child-ready, but to get the family ready.”

Graduates of the ELC already have their educational plans in place, saving kindergarten teachers months of figuring out how to meet a student’s needs.

The program, at this point, doesn’t have traditional peers, something many developmental preschools hope for. Traditional peer students allow for education and interaction between the groups.

Lewiston School District, for example, launched a pilot preschool program at one of its three developmental preschools this fall. The program serves both as a retention and recruitment tool for district employees but also provides near peers for students with special needs.

“We believe that students who need additional intervention will grow faster if they are in a classroom with near peers,” said Peggy Flerchinger, director of special services for Lewiston.“The near peers will help the other students grow faster due to modeling.”

Students are already showing huge growth, Flerchinger said, with all students knowing eight or more colors, and 90% can count to 10 and write their name.

Lewiston’s preschool programs serve 62 students.

Child care coming soon

to CDA schools

The other half of Borah will soon be home to the School Plus program. Currently, School Plus acts as before and after school care from 6:30 a.m. to 9 a.m., then 3:15 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 10 district schools.

The expanded program will offer full-time child care at Borah from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. for 35 students aged 2 to 5. There are an additional 20 “learning hour” spots for toddlers to come from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. for socialization and early learning.

Lenz came to the school district 17 years ago looking for an hourly job and was hired as an assistant to the School Plus program. She moved up steadily until she became the program director six years ago.

“Sometimes child care picks you, you don’t pick it,” Lenz said. “I love every minute of it.”

Lenz noticed so many district employees had moved to the area because they love it but lack the family support she had. She also wanted to serve moms like her who had family to watch their children but were concerned about them having the skills to thrive in kindergarten.

Things like taking off and putting on a coat, opening a carton of milk, knowing their letters and writing their name are Lenz’s educational goals for her new students.

“All the things that teachers at the first week of school are ready to pull their hair out,” Lenz said. “I’m hoping that these kids are prepared to do that.”

The program will take families who qualify for the ICCP subsidy and offer a discount for district staff.

Without those subsidies, families with children aged 24-36 months will pay $900 a month for full-time care and those with children ages 4 and 5 will pay $850. The learning hour only five days a week will cost $425 a month. Up to 40 district employees would receive a reduced rate.

Lenz said she already has six families wanting a spot for their children. While other child care providers often struggle to hire and retain staff, the school district’s benefits package is a huge draw, Lenz said.

She expects many of her School Plus staff will want to go full time. Eventually, Lenz hopes to expand the program to include baby care.

“We don’t want to lose those teachers for two years. That’s what the goal is, to keep the teachers going,” Lenz said. “They take their maternity leave, and then they get to come back and know that the babies are safe in a secure, quiet environment.”

There’s plenty of space in Borah, Lenz said, to expand the program to serve about 90 children.

“It’s a wonderful use of the building,” she said.

The program will also provide that peer experience for students in the ELC who can play with School Plus students at recess and share resources like holding a joint picture day or visits from the area mobile library.

“Other districts don’t have this sort of a program where their developmental preschools and typical students are able to work together,” Maier said.