Southwest Fresno preschool focuses heavily on literacy

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Bright colors and books galore, the Early Readers Preschool in Southwest Fresnois full of character and characters. They are getting just about ready to fill their classroom with young minds. Yes, children will learn the basics like colors and counting, but the main focus is on reading.

"It really empowers children when they know how to read and kindergarten has a lot of high expectations and we are finding out know a lot of kindergartners are not ready and they are going into prekindergarten," said Carla Hill Site director.

Children have dozens of books to choose from and every week they'll be swapped out for new ones.

"We want our children to be able to relate to books in every form of activity," she said.

Hill said the school is meeting demand in an area that is immensely undeserved. According to her research, about 2,500 children in Southwest Fresno are old enough to attend preschool. A lack of facilities is forcing close to half of those, to seek education outside the area.

"For our minority children, they really need that extra help, that push that will give them that advantage, so they can start off school not behind and really start off kindergarten with an advantage," said Hill.

The school goes beyond preparing children for the next level; parents are also connected with local resources to help their family succeed. Pastor Tate Hill says, they're trying to change their community.

"We are taking that old sang, that it takes a village to raise a child, we're taking that and saying we're going to be a part of that village," he said.

Next, they want to build Southwest Fresno's first-ever toddler park adjacent to the school, but they are asking the community for help with this project. They are holding their grand opening next Saturday on July 20th.

School starts August 5th, and they are currently open for enrollment. You can learn more here.