LOXLEY — Eighteen slots are available in a program designed to help children achieve success in a classroom of their peers.

Those slots belong to children who register for enrollment in Baldwin County’s voluntary pre-k program on Feb. 10 and Feb. 11.

“The day the children come to register, they are given a preliminary screening assessment, we rank the scores and select the children with the greatest academic need,” Cindy Chandler, county pre-k program coordinator, said. “The program provides these 18 students the opportunity to compete on the same level as their peers in kindergarten.”

The program, funded through the Governor’s Office of School Readiness and federal funds, limits classroom size to 18 students, but Chandler said each school keeps a waiting list of 8 to 10 more.

“Probably 445 children sign up for the program, and from those, we select around 280 children for the program,” Chandler said. “We have had a very good turnout.”

Chandler said the only school that does not operate at capacity is Vaughn Elementary, because the program there has never had enough children sign up.

 “The Office of School Readiness sets a curriculum of eight skill concepts,” Chandler said. “Of those, math and literacy are the focus of our program.”

Chandler said children in the program develop oral language and literacy skills by repeating nursery rhymes, singing, listening to music and placing words in music.

“We focus on activities that are hands on, of high interest to the children and focus on oral language development,” Chandler said. “The program is truly working and keeping the kids on track.”

According to Chandler, each of the students who have gone through the pre-k program as language learners passed the state assessment at the end of kindergarten.

“Our success is a credit to the program,” Chandler said. “ Governor Riley calls it his ‘First Class’ program, and Alabama is one of only two states that have met all criteria and nationally high standards.”

Baldwin County has had the pre-k program for four years, and according to Chandler’s figures, 736 students have been served.

But, the program is not available countywide.

“The Office of School Readiness funds have to be supplemented by Title 1 funds,” Chandler says. “That means we can only have the program in Title 1 schools with a 40 percent population on free or reduced lunch, and the Title 1 funds have to be spent on the students in those schools.”

Six of the 15 pre-k programs in Baldwin County are funded by the GOSR. The other nine programs supplement costs with Title 1 federal funding.

“I wish I could convince the Legislature this is where their money needs to go during the session,” Chandler said. “I know colleges need it, but they can raise tuition. The little public schools cannot.”

Registration is Feb. 10 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. for Perdido, Vaughn, Delta, Bay Minette, Pine Grove, Loxley, Rosinton and Elsanor.

Registration is Feb. 11 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. for Silverhill, Robertsdale, Summerdale, Foley, Magnolia, Swift and Elberta.

“We want parents to register their children on the day their school is scheduled to register so they can register at the school,” Chandler said. “But, we understand parents have other responsibilities so we scheduled two makeup days.”

Makeup registration is Feb.12 and Feb. 13 at the Baldwin County School Central Office Satellite in Loxley.

To register a child for the program, the parents need to bring their child to the school they would attend, bring a birth certificate and proof of residence in the form of a telephone, gas or electricity bill. Students must be 4 by Sept. 1, 2009, to be eligible for enrollment.

For more information about Baldwin County’s pre-k program, call the Federal Programs Office at (251) 947-6863.