Benton Pre-K

     Some youngsters in the Benton school district will get the chance to enroll in pre-kindergarten free of charge thanks to some grant money.

     This will be the first year the district has offered public pre-k, and officials say the spots are going fast.

     Benton public schools will now include 3 pre-kindergarten classes, which means more young children getting an academic boost.

     "We see a lot of kindergarten students that come to us that are not ready and so with this Pre-K we hope for great things, that they'll be ready when they start kindergarten,” says Ringgold Elementary School Principal, Ann Kerr.

     60 children can be a part of this fledgling program. School officials say the spots will be filled based on financial need to begin with, and it looks like putting kids in chairs won't be a problem.

     "We have had phone calls all day today, so we are pretty full, we have six slots available in the district right now,” says Karla Neathery, Director of Curriculum for the district.

     But teachers in the district hope these three classes are just the building blocks of a much larger program.

     Because the more kids learn at an early age, the bigger the chance for success.

     "We would love to expand this program to bigger and better each and every year,” Neathery says.

     Of the three Pre-K classrooms, two will be at Ringgold elementary and the other at Grant Elementary.