PARIS – A preschool program at Paris Elementary School that provides free schooling, breakfast, lunch and transportation for 4-year-olds is in need of more children.

“We’re looking for 4-year-olds to come on down and sign up,” said Deborah Florenz, director of children’s services at Community Concepts in Paris, which last year teamed up with SAD 17 to provide a preschool program for Head Start-eligible youngsters.

This year when the school opens on Sept. 15, the program sponsors plan to offer a second classroom for any 4-year-old, but many slots have yet to be filled, Florenz said.

Officials believe the community is not aware that the slots are open to any 4-year-old, regardless of family income. Last year, during the first year of the program, classroom spots were restricted to income-eligible students through the Head Start program.

The comprehensive program is designed to prepare children educationally and socially for full-time school.

“It gives students a little head start on developing the skills they need when children enroll in school,” SAD 17 Superintendent Mark Eastman said.

The program offers art, science, math and other academic subjects, outside playtime, family-style breakfast and lunch, and transportation, all at no cost in space provided at the Paris Elementary School. Children will be allowed to use the school’s library and gym, as well.

They will receive free screening to see if they have any needs that should be referred to a specialist, and the staff will make sure students go to a dentist or doctor when appropriate and that they are up to date on immunizations.

“We do assessments of kids three times a year,” Florenz said. “It’s a great opportunity.”

Each of the two classrooms will have trained staff, a certified teacher and education technician, with a ratio of two teachers to 18 children. This year, for the first time, fifth- and sixth-graders will act as “reading buddies” for the preschoolers. Children who use the SAD 17 bus will be assigned an older “buddy” for the rides back and forth to school.

Parents are encouraged to become involved as volunteers.

The benefits of a preschool education are bountiful, Florenz said. “Children are much better prepared to learn when they start kindergarten,” she said. “The whole idea is to work with children and families to give them exposure to the kinds of things they need to learn.”

Florenz said the classroom expansion has happened because the school district is pitching in financially to share costs. The preschool students are counted in the school district population, which is reported on Oct. 1 to the state Department of Education for reimbursement purposes.