Classrooms for 3- and 4-year-olds will open at two Lawrence neighborhood schools, increasing preschool availability in the district to six total buildings.
Superintendent Jeanice Swift reported to the school board on Monday that one classroom each will be added at Prairie Park and Deerfield elementary schools in fall 2026.
Once implemented, the district will reach the halfway mark of preschools represented at all 11 elementary schools.
“These two school campuses both have put their hands up and said, ‘Pick us. Pick us. We have a room. We’re ready to go,’” Swift told the board Monday. “And they will be beautiful locations to continue our early childhood expansion work that we began this year at Sunflower and Woodlawn.”
Existing preschool programs serve students at New York Montessori School and Kennedy Early Childhood Center.
The district opened one preschool classroom each at Sunflower and Woodlawn elementary schools in August.
Swift reported to the board in March that the two schools were selected based on demand and that others would be phased in over the next few years as part of program “enhancements.”
If local news matters to you, please help us keep doing this work.
Don’t miss a beat — get the latest news from the Times delivered to your inbox:
Click here to learn more about our newsletters first
Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
Latest Lawrence news:
Tom Harper/Lawrence Times
