Dear Dorie: What preschool classes are available through the school district? How do families access the classes for their children?
Dear reader: The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District runs a public preschool program through their child development services department. This translates to most, but not all, of the local elementary schools having a preschool classroom on site that operates a three-hour program, five days a week throughout the academic year. Franklin, Grant, McKinley, Muir, Edison and Will Rogers elementary schools have one or more preschool classrooms, and the Pine Street Preschool is located next to the Olympic High School campus.
All children are provided a quality preschool program with meal and snack, but there are three categories for applicants: ■ Head Start has a low-income requirement and is fully subsidized (free). ■ State Preschool has a low-to moderate-income requirement and is partially subsidized. ■ Full Cost has no income requirement and currently charges $375 per month tuition. In that sense, it is not “public” but if you compare their tuition to a private program, you’ll see that it’s close.
For specific location information and applications, parents should call SMMUSD child development services at (310) 399-5865, or apply in person at 2802 Fourth St. (Dorie Meek is director of the Infant & Family Support Program, provided by Saint John’s Health Center in partnership with the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. Meek answers questions concerning children ages birth to 5 years old. Submit your questions to “Dear Dorie” at, or call (310) 452-6132; fax (310) 452-6392).
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 9, 2004. Read the original PDF.