Thursday, May 31, 2007

If Burlington closes a school, would it have room for universal Pre-K?

This past year, the Vermont state legislature held hearings on the possibility of the state funding universal pre-K education in the public schools. It is widely accepted that pre-K education is one of the most effective ways to improve academic performance for children from low-income families.

As the chart below shows, if universal pre-K were instituted, Burlington's current elementary schools would be just at capacity. If schools are closed and buildings are sold, we would not.

ElementaryCapacity2006pre-ktotal with pre-k 
Barnes18014925174under by 6
Champlain32029449343over by 23
Edmunds34028748335under by 5
Flynn36033155386over by 16
Smith32027947326over by 6
Wheeler32022838266under by 54

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