Rapid City Area Schools suspend preschool enrollment indefinitely

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - Preschool can be vital for the early development of a child’s educational career, but what if there’s none in town to take your child to?

That’s exactly the situation that some parents in the area are faced with after Rapid City Area Schools announced that preschool enrollment is suspended until further notice.

Rapid City Area Schools has suspended enrollment to their preschool program indefinitely, citing a lack of teachers as the main factor prompting the change. We reached out to them for a statement but they declined to comment. RCAS isn’t the only place impacted by an area teacher shortage either, a teacher at another preschool we talked with says they aren’t able to take in any more kids for similar reasons.

“Unfortunately a lot of daycares including ours we don’t have room for anymore for kids right now so it’s kinda hard to take in extra kids when we don’t have room,” said Jennifer Fuhs a teacher at Little Owls Preschool.

Fuhs says while they are having trouble finding teachers, that isn’t what she thinks is the main cause of the burden on childcare services.

“I think the thing that contributed to that the most is we had two daycares in this area close as well so a lot of those families got displaced so they had to find care for their children,” said Fuhs.

Fuhs did mention one preschool that still has some space available, if you’re looking for a new caretaker for your children she recommends checking out Youth and Family Services Head Start Program.

Those looking to apply for the Head Start Program should keep in mind that they are income-based so some applicants may not qualify for their services.

Despite that, she believes that some parents may not be able to find care because there aren’t enough providers for the number of children in the area.

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