Children in the Pre-K program Photo courtesy of CPS

BETHEL — Crescent Park School (CPS) is looking for more preschoolers to join the Pre-Kindergarten Program.

The program, intended for three and four-year-old children, has 12 open spots for three year-olds, and 32 open spots for four-year-olds each year.

Families interested in enrolling their kids in the program can get paperwork at CPS and then they will have to make an appointment with Community Concepts to go over the application process.

The program is in its second year.

“It’s a great program to get families involved in our school and give kids a jump start on their school,” Principal Elaine Ferland said. “They are familiar with the school, they are familiar with the routines and structures.”

The program gets students involved in reading and also teaches them how to write numbers and letters and how to write their names.

It’s benefits also go beyond academics, she said.

“Pre-K is based more on social, more about being kind and being friends,” Ferland said. “It’s a great opportunity for families to get their kids in here and for families to get in here, too.”

Ferland said the school is always looking for volunteers for the classroom and that parents can also join the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA). The PTA has monthly events which include dances, paint and snack nights and science nights.

The four-year-old program runs from 7:30-2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and the three-year-old program is from 8-2 p.m. Four-year-olds can ride the bus to CPS, but families must be responsible for transportation for the three-year-olds.

The three-year-old program currently runs Tuesday through Thursday, but will extend to a week long program next year.

The three-year-old program can take 12 students and the four-year-old program can take 16 in each of the classrooms. Two spots are open in the four-year-old program currently. Ferland hopes to fill up each classroom next year.

If all classrooms are filled up, other children are put on a waiting list.

There are two teachers in each classroom.

“It’s an exciting program and we’ve had a lot of success with the kids,” Ferland said.