Youth Commission starts preschool

The metro Youth Commission is expanding its services to offer preschool in south Fargo starting Sept. 13, the group announced.

The agency will take in up to 80 preschoolers ages 3 to 5 at its youth center at Rose Creek, said preschool director and teacher Julie Otto.

Besides socialization, the curriculum is designed to prepare children for a kindergarten experience more demanding than in decades past.

"Kindergarten is a little different now than when we went to kindergarten," Otto said. "I think it's really important for kids to know their alphabet, know their numbers, know the sounds of letters."

The preschool program is designed to help single parents and working families, said Rob Kueneman, executive director of the Youth Commission/Boys and Girls Club of the Red River Valley.

There will be a morning and afternoon session, and those sessions will also be split into Monday-Wednesday-Friday and Tuesday-Thursday groups, each with up to 20 students, Otto said.

Having transportation available to pick up and drop off preschoolers is a big help for working families, he said.

The secure facility, at 4809 S. University Drive, requires a staff member to open a door for visitors to enter, and it is monitored by a digital electronic system.

The building has a classroom, computer room, art room, gymnasium and game room, plus space to play outside, Otto said.

The early introduction to computers through learn­ing games is also important for young children's growth, she said.

"It's just another way to prepare them for the world that's coming," Otto said.

The youth center will be used by preschoolers during the day. Then, after-school programs to handle the overflow of kindergarten through fifth-graders from the Centennial, Bennett and Kennedy elementary school areas will fill the building, Kueneman said. That means the building will be full much of the day, he said.

If the preschool program is successful, it will be expanded to other Fargo and Moorhead locations, he said.

The cost is $110 to $125 per month, depending on the number of days per week a child attends. Trans­portation costs $22 to $30 per month, with a $35-per-family registration fee.

If you have questions or wish to sign your child up, phone Otto at (701) 235-2147 or e-mail her at Julie@bgcrrv.org .

Readers can reach Forum reporter Helmut Schmidt at (701) 241-5583