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Contact :
Tenille Alexander-Banner
talexander-banner@smartstartofmeck.org
704-943-9403
MECK Pre-K Now Taking Registration for 2024-2025 School Year
While Also Reflecting Back on Seven Years of Operation
CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 5, 2024 – MECK Pre-K is now taking registration for the 2024-2025 school year at MeckPreK.org.
2024 is the seventh year of operation for MECK Pre-K, the high-quality pre-K program open to all four-year-old children in Mecklenburg County at no cost to families. As MECK Pre-K takes registration for 2024-2025, we are also reflecting back on some important milestones for the program.
Capacity and enrollment have increased significantly since MECK Pre-K opened in September 2018. In Year 1, the 2018-2019 School Year, MECK Pre-K launched with 33 classrooms in 20 child development centers, and capacity for 600 students. Now in Year 6, the 2023-2024 School Year, MECK Pre-K has grown to 105 classrooms in 47 child development centers, and capacity for 1,890 students. That’s a 215% capacity increase.
More than 6,400 children have graduated from MECK Pre-K thus far, and they entered kindergarten ready to succeed. Most of the children who attended MECK Pre-K in its first year are in fifth grade today. MECK Pre-K is conducting an independent, longitudinal evaluation to track MECK Pre-K students through 5th grade to assess the long-term impacts of the program. Results of that evaluation will not be available until later, but will provide priceless insights that can be used not only in our community, but in the pre-K industry as a whole.
The number of eligible applicants has also increased, by 82%, over the past five years. When registration closed for the 2023-2024 school year, MECK Pre-K had received 2,697 eligible applications. For comparison, the total number of eligible applications or the 2019-2020 school year was 1,478.
Most of the children who attended MECK Pre-K in its first year are in fifth grade today. MECK Pre-K is conducting an independent, longitudinal evaluation to track MECK Pre-K students through 5th grade to assess the long-term impacts of the program. Results of that evaluation will not be available until later, but will provide priceless insights that can be used not only in our community, but in the pre-K industry as a whole.
For the last three years MECK Pre-K has met or exceeded its goal of 80% or more of children exhibiting at least 1 full year’s growth in the 10-month program. MECK Pre-K measures every child’s growth in learning and school related skills throughout the year. Progress on pre-reading, language, mathematical, problem-solving, physical, and social emotional development is recorded weekly. At three evenly spaced checkpoints throughout the year, data is analyzed and shared with parents. The data analysis guides teachers’ planning for subsequent lessons and experiences. The BRIGANCE Early Childhood Screener is used at the beginning and end of the year to measure each child’s growth. You can learn more about how MECK Pre-K measures student growth at meckprek.org/how-meckprek-measures-prek-growth.
Registration is now open for the 2024-2025 school year. Families can visit MeckPreK.org and click on the "Apply Now" button. Families can also find MECK Pre-K and other Smart Start Programs at one of these locations:
- Ella B. Scarborough Resource Center, 430 Stitt Road, Charlotte, Tuesdays, 9am-3pm
- Valerie C. Woodard Center, Building A, 3205 Freedom Dr., Charlotte, Wednesdays, 10am-3pm
Additional registration events will be posted at meckprek.org/events
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