West Marin families will have another choice for preschool as Shoreline Unified School District opens a new program at Inverness School. In August, the district will replace the program for 4-year-olds that Papermill Creek Children’s Corner has run on the campus for the past year.
Early last year, Shoreline discussed annexing Papermill Creek altogether, as it did with Shoreline Acres in Tomales. But Papermill wanted to keep operating as a nonprofit in Point Reyes Station, and ultimately, the district decided only to take over the 4-year-old program, leaving Papermill more space to accommodate younger children. After a year-long delay during which Papermill ran the program in Inverness, Shoreline trustees voted to take it over in March. The preschools will complement each other, said Lourdes Romo, the executive director of Papermill Creek.
“I was a little nervous at first, because I thought there was going to be competition going on,” Ms. Romo said. But, she added, “The goal here is to create a network of services. In no way is there competition.”
Since Bolinas opened a free preschool five years ago, two private preschool programs in Bolinas and Stinson Beach closed their doors. But Shoreline preschool director Daphne Cummings agreed with Ms. Romo: “The last thing that we want to do is to damage their program, or to do anything in a vacuum… We want to make sure that families have as many great options as possible.”
Both directors said a 4-year-old program at Inverness School made sense because it helped ease the transition to kindergarten on the same campus. But parents of 3- and 4-year-olds will have to make up their minds about the two schools based on the needs and development of their children—and on a few key differences.
Cost may be a deciding factor, though both Ms. Romo and Ms. Cummings said they do what they can to accommodate everyone. The tuition for full-time preschool at Inverness School will run $720 per month for higher-income families. Any family making under $120,000 annually can qualify for half price through a West Marin Fund scholarship program, and families that make less than about $89,000 qualify for free tuition, covered by California State Preschool Program subsidies that provide Shoreline with about $9,000 per child in annual funding. Ms. Cummings said very few families pay full tuition at the other two Shoreline preschools, in Tomales and Bodega Bay.
Papermill Creek charges on a sliding scale based on income, but its prices are higher across the board. Families that make $120,000 and up pay $1,000 per month, while at the low end of the scale, families making less than $30,000 pay $650. Ms. Romo said if families are still having a hard time, she has written grant applications to secure scholarships. “I have never sent a child home because the family couldn’t pay,” she said.
By 2025, California plans to fund universal transitional kindergarten for older 4-year-olds, but no new money will go to the generally wealthier, property tax-funded basic aid districts like Shoreline. Preschool funding in West Marin will remain a patchwork of private scholarships, low-income subsidies and out-of-pocket spending by districts.
Bolinas-Stinson Union School District has offered free 4-year-old preschool since 2017 and last year added 3-year-olds in a program bankrolled by the district’s ample general fund. Some parents wondered if Inverness could get a similar tuition-free program, but Ms. Cummings said Shoreline doesn’t have the budget to sustain one. Before it annexed Shoreline Acres last year, the district’s board was split, with some trustees voicing serious budget concerns after they found out the program would draw from the general fund even after securing state scholarships, tuition and private donations.
A major selling point for Papermill Creek is time spent outdoors. On most days, everything but meals and naptime takes place outside, and even on rainy days, children are welcome to play and take part in organized outdoor learning. School ends at 5 p.m. after an hour and a half of independent play. In contrast, Inverness Preschool will likely include about an hour of outdoor time daily, Ms. Cummings said. But, she added, “Preschool schedules are flexible, and if the teachers saw that the children needed to run around outside, then the teachers would pivot and take them out.” Inverness Preschool days will end more than two hours earlier than Papermill, at 2:40 p.m.
Natalie Genazzi, a Point Reyes Station resident with a 3-year-old at Papermill, said the lack of outdoor learning at Inverness was discouraging. “If they were going to spend most of their time in the classroom, I would probably opt for Papermill,” Ms. Genazzi said.
Inverness resident Molly Livingston said although her 4-year-old was offered a spot at Inverness Preschool, she was considering keeping him at Papermill Creek, citing the school’s better food, among other factors. Ms. Romo said Papermill takes special care to prepare organic home-cooked breakfast, lunch and snacks, which goes beyond what Shoreline can do.
There are several other key differences. While Papermill is a year-round program, Inverness Preschool, like its Tomales and Bodega Bay equivalents, will follow the 10-month school year and close for the summer. Papermill has a 1:5 teacher-to-student ratio, Ms. Romo said. Inverness will likely accommodate 16 children and have two teachers, a 1:8 ratio. Shoreline is in the process of hiring one bilingual teacher and another non-bilingual teacher. All three of Papermill’s teachers are bilingual Spanish speakers.
One of Inverness Preschool’s teachers will be a certificated teacher starting at $31,220, a salary that jumps significantly to $58,127 if the teacher has taken at least 30 class units beyond a bachelor’s degree. With a master’s, the starting salary climbs to $62,200. The other teacher, set to be hired this week, will be a classified paraeducator paid just under $20 per hour. At Papermill, teacher pay ranges from $41,000 to $52,000, according to experience.
There is still a gap in licensed childcare for kids under 3 across West Marin. But as more 4-year-olds attend Inverness rather than Papermill, the Point Reyes Station school will consider accommodating toddlers.
Enrollment for Inverness Preschool is underway. Ms. Cummings said interested parents should contact her as soon as possible at [email protected].