FORSYTH COUNTY, N.C. — An initiative is helping connect families with public and private pre-K programs within Forsyth County. 

What You Need To Know

North Carolina pre-K enrollment dropped by 30% according to Child Care Resource Center

Pre-K Priority helps connect families match with pre-K programs for their children

Nearly half of Forsyth County’s children aren’t proficient in reading by third grade, according to Pre-K Priority

North Carolina enrollment in pre-K programs dropped by 30% over the course of the pandemic, according to Child Care Resource Center. Pre-K Priority works to find a high-quality pre-K program for all children in Forsyth County. 

Mandie Padgett wanted her daughter, Millie, to learn in the classroom. Just before Millie turned 3 years old, she started preschool. Not much time after, the pandemic shut down her program. Millie Padgett went to work with her mother, who taught older students in learning pods. 

“It was just really important to me that she was in a classroom, and she’s ready for kindergarten, and I think she is,” Mandie Padgett said. “It was just really important to me that she was in a classroom, and she’s ready for kindergarten, and I think she is,” Mandie Padgett said. 

Last spring, Padgett started the enrollment process for her daughter. She ended up at Union Cross Elementary School in Kernersville. Padgett quickly saw the changes in her daughter as she began to learn and grow. 

“This is huge, mostly learning the schedule, the structures, the routines of a classroom. Having a head start, I don’t feel like she’s behind anymore,” Padgett said. 

As an educator, Padgett supports early education. The pre-K program has given her daughter the opportunity to learn socially and emotionally through free play and activities, as well as learning the foundations like counting and letters. 

Pre-K Priority works with Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools’ Office of Early Learning and Exceptional Children Preschool Intake. The group also works with Smart Start, Head Start and Child Care Resource Center to place students in programs. For more information, click here.