photo by: Getty Images

A preschool classroom is pictured in this stock photo.

To address the growing need for additional preschool opportunities, the Lawrence school district will be opening additional capacity at several elementary schools later this month.

Previously, the district’s primary early childhood programming was located at Kennedy Early Childhood Center and New York Montessori. Since 2025, the district has expanded 3- and 4-year-old classrooms into neighborhood elementary schools to reduce barriers and engage families earlier. The district currently offers one preschool classroom each at Deerfield, Prairie Park, Sunflower and Woodlawn elementary schools.

“This is a need that we hear directly from our community,” Superintendent Jeanice Swift said. “And we want in every way we can to meet that moment and ensure that we’re offering quality preschool learning.”

Five more classrooms are expected to open in mid-September. Two will open at Kennedy Early Childhood Center, while Deerfield, Hillcrest and Sunflower Elementary Schools will each gain one additional classroom.

Swift said that the preschool expansion has been enabled by a smaller kindergarten cohort at some elementary schools. Swift added that she thinks the reasoning behind the smaller kindergarten classes is because they were born during the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, demand for early childhood programming has been growing – with the district having 160 students on the waitlist for the last couple of weeks.

Limited state funding has made local investment and support from the school board particularly important as the district works to expand preschool access. Kansas does not provide universal preschool funding for all children; instead, state support targets specific at-risk criteria and special needs through grants administered by the Kansas State Department of Education.

“We’re grateful that our board has seen (preschool programming) as a priority,” Swift said. ” … It is partially funded (in Kansas), so we do get some funding, but it is not fully funded. So we are very grateful for the opportunity to take the necessary steps.”

The district’s student enrollment has declined in recent years. As the Journal-World reported, while the district’s enrollment was 2% lower in 2025-2026 in comparison to the previous year, there’s been a trend of increasing enrollment for preschool levels.

While the district’s goal has been to have at least one preschool classroom in every neighborhood school, Swift said there are challenges with adding a classroom to some schools because there just isn’t enough space.

“There will be a couple of places where that’s not really possible right now with the limitations of space,” Swift said. “So those will be the things that we have to think about as we move forward.”

Langston Hughes Elementary is one example of a school not having enough space, and as the Journal-World reported, is expected to undergo a large expansion project. Swift said the community will soon hear an update on those efforts this fall.

For now, however, Swift said the district is focused on taking advantage of available space at schools.

“It was really a perfect synchronicity of need and demand and our ability to meet the moment and the need,” Swift said.

There are still some things the district needs to check off before welcoming pre-K students later this month. Lawrence school board members recently authorized to to equip and furnish the five additional classrooms for a total cost not to exceed $185,000. Swift also said the district is currently in the process of hiring staff and teacher aids for each of the classrooms.

“We knew of excellent preschool teachers from our summer interviews, and we’re finishing up hiring now,” Swift said.

The expansion, Swift said, reflects the district’s belief in the importance of providing children with access to early learning opportunities.

“We know an additional year of school is good for all children,” Swift said. “And we also know the support and the relief that it can be for a family to have a safe, and happy and healthy place for their child to learn each day.”

The families already on the preschool waitlist recently received the first opportunity to express an interest in the opening of these new classrooms. Families can fill out a preschool interest form https://forms.gle/T2KyLUPwtTwSF1aC6.