Once Upon a Child Development Pre-School Center, a private childcare center in Athens, has a few openings for 4-year-olds in its new pre-kindergarten program.

The center recently received a four-year, First Class grant from the Alabama Office of School Readiness Department of Children’s Affairs for the program, said Tashina Wise, assistant teacher and office manager.

The state’s First Class program uses a combination of grants to ensure that pre-kindergarten classrooms maintain high-quality standards and that state-supported slots to keep costs affordable for families.

The 6 1/2-hour program will be open Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Because of the grant, participants will pay only about $25 a week, Wise said. The service is free to those with the Child Care Management Agency, she said.

The business is located off Alabama 99, just past Owens Elementary School and beside the pizza parlor. A total of 18 pre-kindergarten children will be accepted. Parents or guardians must fill out an application to be considered. There is no registration fee. For more information, call Wise or Bonita Thompson at (256) 230-3232.

Studies show that children who attend pre-kindergarten are less likely to repeat a grade or be placed in special education and more likely to graduate from high school and college, and earn higher salaries as adults, according to the Business Council of Alabama.

Currently, only about 4 percent of Alabama children attend preschool. Gov. Bob Riley’s plan triples that number in its first year and will provide access to First Class voluntary pre-kindergarten to 21,000 children by 2011, according to the BCA.

– Jean Cole