A.C. Moore will be home to new pre-K program
By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
Since A.C. Moore Elementary School was closed in 2017, the building has mostly been vacant. That is going to change in the near future.
Escambia County Superintendent of Education Michele McClung posted on the school system’s Facebook page that the school building would soon be home to the Alabama First-Class Pre-K program, a statewide voluntary pre-kindergarten plan.
The program, administered by the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education, was implemented in 2006. It had grown to more than 22,000 participants by the end of 2021.
The state legislature accepted Governor Kay Ivey’s recommendation that the state’s Fiscal Year 2023 budget include a $22.5 million increase for early childhood education, including funding for pre-K programs at 35 schools, including A.C. Moore.
A flyer distributed by school officials indicates that online pre-registration has begun for the class or classes of 4-year-olds that will be part of the program, which is set to start January 15, 2023.
Acceptance into the class, for which there is no registration fee, is through a random drawing that will be conducted at 1 p.m. Tuesday, June 7, at A.C. Moore from all applications received.
Potential students must be residents of Escambia County, Alabama, who are age 4 on September 1, 2022. Students who are eligible for kindergarten are not eligible for the pre-K program.
The following documents must be furnished when registering or pre-registering (online at prek.alaceed.alabama.gov): a copy of the child’s birth certificate; proof of residence (current utility bill; copy of lease or mortgage).
If the child’s name is drawn June 7, a copy of his or her immunization record must be provided before the child can participate.
Note: School officials had not replied by this week’s press deadline to an emailed request for more information on the new pre-k program. Atmore News hopes to include that information in our May 18 edition.