I have thought about this for a long time, and I finally feel that I need to share it.

I believe there is one change that could alleviate so many of the challenges Lakewood families are currently facing. Obviously, no solution is perfect, and there is always a cost-benefit analysis involved. But I genuinely believe we have reached a point where this has become an urgent communal need:

Every elementary school should have a nursery and kindergarten program beginning at age three, with bussing provided.

I realize that many schools currently do have preschool classes. However, those programs are generally very limited and available primarily to families who already have siblings enrolled in the school. What I am suggesting is something much broader: that preschool beginning at age three become a standard part of the elementary school system, with sufficient capacity so that it is a realistic option for the broader parent body—not a limited privilege available to a select number of families.

As a mother of several married children, B”H, I watch what my children and so many other young families go through every day—the endless carpools, the stress each year of finding and getting accepted to a morah, the increasingly exorbitant preschool fees, and now, in many cases, no playgroup on Fridays. The amount of pressure this places on parents should not be underestimated.

For many years, there was an understandable concern about protecting the parnassah of kollel families who relied on running playgroups. But the home-preschool model has changed dramatically. We are seeing very young and inexperienced morahs charging rates that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago, while wonderful, experienced morahs who have been doing this for years are put in an impossible position. What was once a beautiful and mutually beneficial system is becoming increasingly difficult for families to sustain.

If every elementary school incorporated a formal preschool program beginning at age three, school acceptance would simply happen two years earlier. Instead of parents spending those years worrying about finding a morah, securing a spot, paying ever-increasing private fees, and arranging multiple daily carpools, their children would already be part of a school system.

The impact would be enormous. Bussing three- and four-year-olds would take an extraordinary number of cars off Lakewood’s roads during the busiest hours. It would reduce traffic congestion while simultaneously removing one of the greatest daily stresses facing young families.

This isn’t simply about convenience. Carpooling multiple young children every morning and afternoon affects parents’ work schedules, family schedules, finances, and quality of life. Multiply that by thousands of families, and it becomes a communal issue.

I truly believe the time for this idea has come. Beginning school at age three, with organized bussing, could completely change the landscape of Lakewood and dramatically improve the daily lives of thousands of families.

It deserves serious consideration.

Anonymous

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