Posted May 4, 2006

Approximately 150 students and their family members who are part of District 41's preschool or parent education programs attended an activity night at Benjamin Franklin School last week. The University of Illinois Extension Service had a nutrition booth, the DuPage Health Department hosted a wellness booth where participants could have their blood pressure checked and get health information, and the D41 Early Childhood staff manned activity centers where the parents and kids worked together on fun, crafty projects. A light dinner was served. The programs--Pre-Kindergarten At Risk, Baby & Me or Partners in Learning--are designed to help eligible pre-school students and families prepare for future success in school through early education intervention, language development activities, parenting training and more. Among the participants were families recently arrived from refugee camps in Somalia and the district provided them with bus service to the activity night as well as to an open house at Abraham Lincoln, where their school-age children are enrolled. District 41 conducts regular preschool screenings to identify youngsters who are eligible for its preschool programs.