Lehighton area parents looking for a pre-kindergarten program for their child now have a free opportunity in their own backyard.

Lehighton Area School District's board of directors officially accepted the 2017-18 Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts grant, worth $170,000, on Monday night.Children who reside in the district and are 3 or 4 years of age by Sept. 1 can enroll in the program if their family meets federal income eligibility requirements."We noticed that a large number of kids coming into the kindergarten program are unaware of the demands of kindergarten, which have increased in the 21st century," said Tim Tkach, Lehighton's assistant to the superintendent. "Today, with both parents working in a lot of families and preschool not an affordable option for everyone, children need an outlet to help develop the good foundation they need moving into kindergarten."Lehighton estimates around half of its incoming kindergarten students, around 140 on average each year, did not have exposure to a preschool program.According to Tkach, statistics show test scores down the road improve when schools are able to get students intervention at an earlier age.The program will likely kick off in late September or early October with a morning session from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. and an afternoon session from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., both at Shull-David Elementary School.Susan Maloney and Amber Williams have been tapped to staff the program."We're really excited about this opportunity to help our students transition to kindergarten," Maloney said. "It's a curriculum-based program and students will be learning general language and social skills that will benefit them greatly down the road."Students will get a chance to become more independent while making friends who will advance with them in their academic career.Community helpers will visit the classroom to talk about their occupations and it is expected that field trips will be a part of the curriculum."We find that there are some kids who get to kindergarten and they are sitting next to friends who can write their own name and if they can't do that, they get depressed or it could lead to behavioral issues," Williams said. "Things have changed over the years and in kindergarten now, you really come in and have to hit the ground running. A pre-K program gives a huge confidence boost. We've seen the change and it's huge."The program does have an income eligibility requirement and families must make less than 300 percent of the poverty level.According to federal guidelines that threshold is $48,720 for a family of two, $61,260 for a family of three and $73,800 for a family of four.A full list of guidelines, as well as registration paperwork is available on Lehighton's website,

www.lehighton.org.Packets can also be picked up at the district office, just off Ninth Street in Lehighton.While Lehighton has slots for just 40 students this year, it is hoping with a successful launch that it can expand in the future.The goal, according to Tkach, is to apply for competitive funding that would lock the program in place for around five years."Ultimately, we'd like to move up to two sessions of 3-year-olds and a session of 3-year-olds so that we are getting 60 students in here for a free pre-K education," he said.For more information, contact Tim Tkach at 610-377-4490 ext. 1540, Rebecca Karpowicz at ext. 1525 or Karen Shaffer at 610-377-7880, press option 3.