Public Radio for the Piedmont and High Country
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

WS/FCS to close 11 Pre-K classrooms due to low enrollment

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools is closing 11 Pre-K classrooms next year, largely due to low enrollment. 

Officials say the classrooms being closed have been under capacity for the last few years. 

They include those at Easton, Forest Park and Cook Literacy Model School, to name a few. But it’s not like children aren’t in need of slots. 

Chief Academic Officer Paula Wilkins says the district actually has a wait list for Pre-K. But families are choosing to stay on that list rather than enroll at certain schools. 

“It is the perception of less quality," Wilkins said at a school board workshop on June 17. "And it's very unfortunate, because I will say the classrooms at Cook were some of the most amazing I have ever seen."

She says there will still be spaces available for students in the district’s remaining Pre-K classrooms. Closing the underutilized sites is estimated to save about $400,000. 

Amy Diaz began covering education in North Carolina’s Piedmont region and High Country for WFDD in partnership with Report For America in 2022. Before entering the world of public radio, she worked as a local government reporter in Flint, Mich. where she was named the 2021 Rookie Writer of the Year by the Michigan Press Association. Diaz is originally from Florida, where she interned at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and freelanced for the Tampa Bay Times. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of South Florida, but truly got her start in the field in elementary school writing scripts for the morning news. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.

Support quality journalism, like the story above,
with your gift right now.

Donate