Westmoreland Community Action is taking enrollment for a new pre-K program in Lower Burrell.
The nonprofit’s program is free to families and funded through state Pre-K Counts and federal Head Start grants.
Enrollment for the 2026-27 class is filling fast, but applications are still open, said Tammy Dietrich, program manager for the organization.
The Lower Burrell class, set to be at Grace Community Presbyterian Church on Grant Street, will enroll 16 students yearly between the ages of 3 and 5.
Interested families can apply through Westmoreland Community Action’s website. They should have proof of income documents and provide a physical and dental examination for their child.
Though the program is income-based, that shouldn’t deter families from applying, according to Roxanne Cava, the operations director for Head Start and Pre-K Counts at Westmoreland Community Action.
“Don’t be afraid to apply, because we still also take families that are over income,” Cava said. “We have so-many over income spots that we are permitted to fill as well.”
The nonprofit is currently in the process of setting up the classroom, including a renovation to the kitchen space.
Dietrich said the class experience will adopt Creative Curriculum and Concious Discipline, both early learning methodologies that focus on a calm teaching-focused response to student behavior rather than reacting to behavior.
The curriculum is based in neuro-science research and promotes comprehensive problem-solving skills and student-teacher connection, according to the Conscious Discipline website.
In the Lower Burrell class, this will include themed programming with each theme lasting six to seven weeks.
“They’re not your typical school themes — we do buildings, we do balls, we do cameras, we do trees — and we take that theme, and that’s what we integrate into all areas of learning,” Cava said. “We do it in our play, we do it in math and science, and social studies. (It’s) all based on that theme for that period of time, and each theme kind of ends with a celebration of that topic.”
Dietrich said the nonprofit assesses how student learning is going three times a year.
“You can see from the beginning of the year to the end of the year how the children’s skills increase and the learning that’s taking place,” she said.
