Based on studies of its first two years, the Konkrete Kids Pre-K Program is yielding results for incoming students in Northampton Area School District.

This year, the program, based at George Wolf Elementary School, Bath, has doubled, from 20 to 40 students, following a school board approved collaboration with Community Services for Children, which runs Lehigh Valley Head Start programs.

Dr. Kathleen E. Ott, NASD director of data, grants and special programs, in a 30-minute presentation, "Journey to Pre-Kindergarten," outlined the program's history and future.

"Now we have two pre-K programs at George Wolf at no cost to the district," Ott told the school board and administrators at the Sept. 22 meeting.

However, the pre-K program's future hangs in the balance of a five-year funded program now in its third year. Should the program not obtain grant funding at the end of the five years, the NASD board would have to vote to pick up the tab to continue it.

"I'm very proud of our accomplishments and the students' accomplishments in the pre-K program," said Ott.

Also attending the Sept. 22 NASD board meeting for Ott's presentation was Krista Ames, NASD literacy coach, and Paul Margraf, executive vice president, Community Services for Children.

Ott said she spoke with parents of pre-K students last week "about how they can help their children."

Joseph Kovalchik, NASD superintendent, said the district's full-day pre-K program is in its 13th year, having begun in the 2002-03 school year.

"The board and district years ago were very proactive in, as I like to describe it, front-end loading education," Kovalchik said.

In addition to Community Services for Children, NASD partners with the Colonial Intermediate Unit 20 and Northampton County Early Intervention Programs for the district pre-K program.

"We have developed a strong partnership and have great visions for the future," Ott said.

According to the Center for Education, an initiative of the National School Boards Association, "Research has shown that both high-quality pre-kindergarten and full-day kindergarten can have significant, often lasting, benefits for children."

Statistics provided by Ott in her presentation indicated significant improvement in the percentage of children demonstrating proficiency based on assessments at the beginning, mid-year and end of the the 2013-14 school year:

Personal and social development improved from 11 percent to 94 percent.

Language and literacy increased from 28 percent to 100 percent.

Mathematical thinking went from 11 percent to 94 percent.

Scientific thinking improved from 0 percent to 100 percent.

Social studies increased from 11 percent to 100 percent.

The arts went from 50 percent to 100 percent.

Physical development and health improved from 22 percent to 89 percent.

Approaches to learning went from 22 percent to 96 percent.

Literacy proficiency improved from 33.7 percent in September to 62.40 percent in May during the 2013-14 school year.

There were improvements in health outcomes, according to Ott, including insurance, physical exams, dental exams, immunizations and other health conditions.

Overall family involvement saw improvements in home visits, family goal planning and connecting to health and community services.

Family involvement in learning saw improvements in reading to children four times a week, attendance at parent-teacher conferences, distribution of learning activity backpacks and parent-child classroom activities.

The average attendance was 91 percent.

The NASD board voted unanimously at the July 28 meeting to approve the third year of the Keystones to Opportunity-Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy for pre-K children. One classroom at George Wolf Elementary School has had 20 pre-K 4-year-olds. A second classroom of 20 students was added this fall at George Wolf.

At the July 28 meeting, NASD school board members approved a letter of agreement for the third year between NASD and Community Services for Children Inc., Allentown, for the preschool program modeled after the Head Start preschool program for 20 students at George Wolf Elementary School for 2014-15 at a cost of $180,000, paid for by the Keystones to Opportunity-Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy Readers grant. The five-year Keystone grant received by NASD is $650,000.

Community Services for Children operates 56 Head Start classrooms in the Lehigh Valley independently and in conjunction with school districts.