Saranac Pre-K: A resource for early learning support

CADYVILLE | Saranac Pre-K doors open every school morning under a sunburst panel on the roof. Learning support services here reach some of the youngest learners in Clinton County, with a few from Essex County, too. The countywide school incorporates special education programs. Its warm hallways carry bright messages and bustle with children's voices. The gym reverberates with laughing, bouncing kids. A staff of 33 encompasses a whole school approach to pre-K here, helping bridge learning gaps before students start classes at their local school. Principal Shannon Nephew said she and the entire staff love what they do. Even with a cohort of experienced special educators, the program competes for trained professionals. "We have students who qualify for two or three services, but there are not enough providers," she said. To understand the need, there are about 250 children in Clinton County receiving early intervention support, ages birth to 2, Nephew said. Saranac Pre-K provides an important continuum that helps the youngest learners transition to busy Kindergarten programs. Early special education is a quantifiable component of success in elementary school. "If we do enough with early education, they can adjust to school-age programs. Our students make a lot of progress," Nephew said. "We have really great kids in this building." Saranac Pre-K is specially focused on early special needs learning. And teachers say it's a special place to work. "It has to do with age; most special education programs don't serve three and four-year-olds," Nephew said. "All of our staff love what they do. They love coming to work every day." Sharon, the school's cook, is a kitchen workforce of one. "I am the kitchen," she smiled. "I love my job," she said, rolling a cart down the hall. The day's menu: diced chicken with gravy and biscuits, mashed potatoes, corn and a tropical fruit mix. SPECIAL PRE-K EDUCATION A morning visit with Nephew and Saranac Central School Superintendent Javier Perez encapsulated elements of success they see. Saranac Pre-K programs are guided by New York State 4410, which approves all preschool special education services. "We are the only program with an 8:1:2 class," Nephew said, referring to an 8:1:2 class structure designed to support up to eight students with significant needs with one special education teacher and one teaching assistant. Saranac Pre-K includes five speech and language specialists, one physical therapist, one occupational therapist with one assistant, aides and staff social workers. Kids come to school from across the region: Four from Ausable Valley school district, one from Beekmantown, one from Chazy, six from Northeastern Clinton Central, eight from Northern Adirondack Central, 13 from Peru, four from Plattsburgh and six from Saranac along with integrated students from Morrisonville. Specialized language and learning educators for young students are a precious commodity in rural areas, administrators admit. But they've worked to keep pace. Programs could be expanded to address regional need, Nephew said. "The waiting list from Clinton County was eight kids in November, now it's up to 12. We had a waiting list for our 612 class with nine students, now it's up to 15." Founded privately as Adirondack Helping Hands, the school was established especially for children with special learning requirements. Saranac Central brought the program under its administrative scope in 2024, retaining a vibrant team of trained special educators and aides -- and their jobs. The move kept vital early education services in place. "We were able to expand the program by two classrooms," Superintendent Perez said of their first year and a half. "We have another wing that is currently not being utilized." If the program closed, it would leave a large gap in regional education services, Perez reiterated. But Saranac Pre-K sits at a crossroads of opportunity and reach. Privately owned, the building is leased to the school district. "We try to keep our budgets separate; this is a countywide school," Perez said. "We've taken up the administration and continue to evaluate." In 2024, a formal NYS Building Condition Survey, which is required by schools every three years, showed areas that need repair. Some are big ticket items, such as HVAC and septic system upgrades. A $1M federal grant from the Northern Border Regional Commission was announced last month as the district considers what is next for pre-K special education services. Cuts aren't realistic. Demand is growing. "One of the pieces of the grant is that the building has to be dedicated to the future. We have to commit to the future of the program before we commit to the grant," Perez said. "We work hard every day to try to find ways to support this program," he said. Area school districts do contribute to the Saranac pre-K with portions of grant resources, but it's not significant, Perez said. New York State has prioritized access, including rural access, to Universal pre-K. Gov. Kathy Hochul has determined to fully fund pre-K programs in a timetable set for the start of the 2028-29 school year, two years from now. On Friday, 23 Jan., Gov. Hochul said pre-K is part of "Fighting for Your Future." In a news release, Hochul said additional pre-K support would reach "truly universal pre-K for all four-year-olds" in the state, not only for additional seats, but also "for existing seats, bringing them up to the greater of $10,000 or the applicable school district's current selected foundation aid per pupil, so that districts have what they need to provide high-quality Pre-K." The funding, she said, "reflects a commitment of roughly a half-billion dollars and will ensure that every child in New York State enters kindergarten ready to learn." The goal appears to align with Saranac Pre-K's purpose. Meantime, schools are looking at a 1 percent funding increase in the Executive Budget with no marked relief for unfunded mandates. There is a sizable governor's grant opportunity open in March, Perez said, but the district has to decide if it can maintain special ed pre-K services before then. Balanced school budgets are due by the end of March. The focus now is to stabilize the countywide pre-K program, Perez said. "After that, it's expansion. We will continue to evaluate and hope it makes sense to continue."

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Saranac Pre-K: A resource for early learning support

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