Clinton Prairie Elementary is expanding early childhood options and opening registration for preschool, transitional kindergarten and kindergarten for the 2026–27 school year, while district leaders say they are working to protect classroom quality amid tight budgets.
Early childhood programs, April 3 roundup
Elementary Principal Luke Harlow said Clinton Prairie will hold its in‑person Kindergarten Roundup on April 3, with families asked to begin by completing online forms at ClintonPrairie.com. Children must be 5 years old by Aug. 1 to enroll in kindergarten. “It’s just a chance for incoming kindergarteners to come in and get familiar with our school, meet some of our teachers,” Harlow said, noting teachers use the visit to learn about students’ preschool experience and place them “in classrooms to make them as successful as possible.”
This is the first year Clinton Prairie has both three‑year‑old and four‑year‑old preschool classrooms, offered as full‑day, academically focused programs. “We’re a very cost‑conscious option for parents that need to work, but also it’s not just daycare,” Harlow said. “They’re learning through play, they’re learning socially, they’re learning their letters.” He said preschoolers follow a Zoo-phonics curriculum that pairs letters with animals and community‑themed lessons.
For 2026–27, three‑year‑old preschool tuition is $395 per month, or about $22 per day, and four‑year‑old preschool is $300 per month, under $17 per day. Harlow said Clinton Prairie plans to knock $50 off each monthly rate for families who register before April 15, bringing the cost to $345 for three‑year‑olds and $250 for four‑year‑olds for the entire school year. “I don’t know that you find childcare cheaper than that, but then you have childcare that is academic based,” he said.
Transitional kindergarten and readiness
In addition to traditional kindergarten, the school offers a free transitional kindergarten class targeted to children who just miss the age cutoff or may need an extra year before full kindergarten. Harlow said the program especially serves students turning 5 in August and September, and can also be an option for May–July birthdays whose families feel they are not quite ready. “It is kind of that gap,” he said. “Maybe they need a little more than what preschool is going to offer, or they’ve already been to a preschool.”
Harlow encouraged families to build readiness at home through simple daily habits. Reading picture books together, practicing colors and shapes, and talking about what children learn at school all help, he said. “Just getting a little picture book and reading to them and letting them see what’s on the page… kids are going to be better readers for that,” he said.
Academics, technology and hands‑on learning
High School Principal Kirsten Clark said Clinton Prairie is emphasizing continuity from preschool through graduation, with strong early literacy and growing STEM and robotics offerings. She noted that last year’s second‑ and third‑graders combined for a 99 percent pass rate on the IREAD‑3 exam, compared to a statewide average that has trended in the low‑ to mid‑80s in recent years. “We’re super proud of our academics,” Clark said. “We believe that being with a teacher in a classroom is the best way to learn, and we’ll always push for that.”
The elementary school is one‑to‑one with devices starting in kindergarten, but Harlow said teachers deliberately balance Chromebooks with traditional materials. “We are heavily on paper pencil” in the lower grades, he said, citing the importance of handwriting, manipulatives and even cursive, which third‑graders are re‑learning as an expectation for signing their names. At the same time, STEM and robotics are popular “specials” where students build rockets, slime and coded robots in competitions that rely on grants and sponsorships to purchase new kits each year.
Both principals highlighted the district’s agriculture and arts programs, including a robust FFA chapter that hosted National FFA Week activities such as staff breakfasts and an elementary “ag day” and petting zoo, and a theater program that collaborates annually with Frankfort High School on a joint musical. “Those are the things that make our schools unique,” Clark said, adding that former students often return to work with the Red Barn and local civic theaters.
Budgets, staffing and ‘coming home’
Harlow acknowledged that Clinton Prairie, like other districts, is feeling the impact of tight state funding and enrollment pressures. “It’s touchy and it’s real,” he said. “But we have a great school board and we have a great superintendent in Dr. Rebecca Boddicker who has led our school well in managing our finances to put us in the best place that we can be.” He said board leadership has tried to protect classroom instruction even as some staffing changes occur, including moving ahead with a new elementary reading curriculum subscription.
Clark and Harlow both said teacher retention remains a strength for the small rural district. Many staff members, including Clark and Superintendent Boddicker, are Clinton Prairie alumni who chose to return. “It’s a coming home kind of idea and then those people stay for a long time,” Clark said. She added that administrators try to give teachers autonomy to use their expertise: “Sometimes a leader just needs to know to get out of the way… when you have a happy staff, that trickles down.”
Families can find preschool, transitional kindergarten and kindergarten registration links, age guidelines and contact information at ClintonPrairie.com. Harlow said the goal is simple: bring children into a familiar school community as early as possible. “If you need to feel good, you stop in a preschool room for five minutes and it’ll raise your spirits,” he said.
—————————————————————
