St. Ignace Area Schools will be offering a new pre-kindergarden education program beginning next fall.

Funded through the Michigan School Readiness Program, also known as the Great Start Readiness Program, provides the district with $3,400 per student for a guaranteed 15 slots shared between St. Ignace and Gros Cap Schools. St. Ignace Superintendent Michael Springsteen said more could be added later.

"If there is a need, we will try to fill that need," Mr. Springsteen said.

Students must be four years old by December 1.

Currently, the St. Ignace school district offers no preschool program, although early child education is available through St. Ignace Head Start and Preschool Center, Sault Tribe Head Start, and St. Ignace Cooperative Preschool.

The program will run for 30 weeks beginning in late September and ending in late May, with a schedule of four days per week. Program days will be from 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Thursday and will offer students a hot lunch program.

Elementary principal Kari Visnaw said the complimentary program will reach students who are not eligible or cannot afford other preschool programs.

"Some students are falling through the cracks," she said. "I would think that most students in our area will be eligible for this program."

Preschool programs can really help students adapt to the state curriculum requirements for kindergarten, Mrs. Visnaw said.

"It really gives you an advantage to have something more of a preschool experience," she said.

St. Ignace is in the process of finding both a full-time certified teacher and full-time teaching assistant for the new program, although Mr. Springsteen said no candidates have yet been identified.

The program is designed for possible expansion. The Eastern Upper Peninsula Intermediate School District is studying an inclusive day care program that goes beyond the hours of the new class, and adding supplementary preschool programming to that part of the day. Mr Springsteen said a program is being set up in a way that allows for the addition of a preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds, if there is a community need for one.