The Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) is Washington State’s pre-kindergarten program serving qualifying 3- to 4-year-old children. It is a comprehensive program that, together with families, ECEAP providers, and local communities, ensures the growth of healthy, resilient children.

Cheney Public Schools has been offering ECEAP preschool to qualifying families since 2018, and at this time, the district holds 120 slots for ECEAP-qualifying children in the program. Currently, there are multiple openings for ECEAP preschoolers across the district; the program is free for qualifying families.

“So much happens in preschool,” said Sunset ECEAP preschool teacher Carolyn Belarde. “I would say the big benefit is social-emotional development that happens in early childhood that is so impactful moving on through the K-12 system. The early interventions you can provide in the classroom, like working through challenging behaviors, how to dysregulate stress, how to build a friendship, how to make trusted adult interactions and learn that it is OK to detach from a parent with a trusted adult.

The other benefits, I would say, are the peer interactions that happen in preschool that are so valuable with what we can do,” Belarde continued. “The conversations, the language development, the learning to solve problems…so much is happening.”

Within the program, children learn early developmental skills across six domains: social-emotional, physical, language, cognitive, literacy, and mathematics. The program utilizes Creative Curriculum as well as Conscious Discipline and monitors student progress through Teaching Strategies Gold. Each of these programs have a strong foundation of research on improving outcomes for early learners.

“I have seen my 3-year-old become more independent outside of the home and willing to try new things when I’m not around,” said Jordan Mitchell, the parent of a first-year ECEAP preschooler. “I can’t wait to see how the rest of the year goes and see how much more he will grow.”

“Having structure and consistency has allowed my son to adjust to a classroom setting, learn how to regulate emotions, and adapt to essential norms within the classroom that are expected in a full-time class,” said Olivia Atkins, the parent of a second-year preschooler. “He would, without a doubt, be completely overwhelmed next year [in kindergarten] without preschool.”

Upon kindergarten entry, children are assessed using WaKIDS—the Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills—a transition process that helps to ensure a successful start to the K-12 experience. Per the Washington State Department of Children, Youth & Families (DCYF), WaKIDS results show ECEAP children are more likely to be ready for kindergarten than children from low-income households in general.

“It depends on the child and the family, but what I would say and what the kindergarten teachers would say is that you can tell a difference between a child who has had an early childhood program compared with a child who has been at home,” Belarde said. “The knowledge and the ability to build a relationship with a trusted adult is different, and the transition is much less stressful for young children.”

“I think having the opportunity to have two days a week of full-day school and being away from home helped with the transition [to kindergarten],” said Mitchell, who also has a second grader who completed the preschool program. “I feel like not having the chance to go to school before kinder would have been a hard adjustment for him. [He] is doing amazing in school and enjoys his class, his teachers, and his best friend he made his first week of PreK.”

Not only does attending preschool help to ease the transition into kindergarten, but it also offers educators access to children who may need early interventions to help them thrive in the learning environment. Early childhood intervention provides services and support to children with developmental delays or disabilities.

Intervention helps children develop positive social-emotional skills (including social relationships), acquire and use of knowledge and skills, and the use of appropriate behaviors to meet their needs.

“Before the child gets to third grade, you have this window of opportunity to really make education a lifelong journey,” Belarde said. “As soon as we can identify that and work toward closing that gap, the better the chance the child has for a successful education career. [The longer that intervention goes], the more it continues on into adulthood and it’s a lifelong skill.”

Belarde has been a preschool teacher at Sunset Elementary for the last five years, and she’s been able to watch a multitude of children move on to kindergarten following time in her preschool classroom. Belarde and parents agree, there is so much to love about preschool and its benefits.

“[Mrs. Belarde] is undeniably the most patient and consistent woman I’ve met,” Atkins said. “Her attention to detail with each kid, continually customizing the experience according to each child’s needs is invaluable.”

“I love the children so much; I love that you can visibly see them growing every day and the light bulb moments that happen with them, the AHA! that you get to see in early childhood,” Belarde said. “Plus, the relationships. I can go into the upper grades and I have children that I taught my first year here, and they are running through the hall to find Mrs. Belarde. The relationships that we build in preschool just set the stage for what can happen throughout their lifelong journey…Preschool is magical; we do magic here.”

The ECEAP program provides structures and support that are of benefit to all preschool students within the inclusionary preschool programs. Over the last five years, over 500 students have benefitted from this holistic approach to preschool education. The program receives the majority of its funding from the state of Washington as well as local levies. It is free for qualifying families. Interested families are able to register for open positions throughout the school year.

To see if you qualify or to register for ECEAP, please visit cheneysd.org or bit.ly/3NQTPwS.