Advocates Push for Protecting Preschool as Harlem School District Considers Cuts
December 11, 2025
Olivia Carstens believes in preschool’s power. The mom sends her 4-year-old to Parker Center in the Harlem School District.
“I don’t think it’s dramatic to say transformational,” she says of his time. “Same great kid, but... in school he’s grown so much socially and with language.”
Carstens’ son has a speech disorder. In his second year in preschool, the mom offered gratitude for the staff, peers and district for offering the “comprehensive” early childhood education.
“There’s a lot of people who will move into the Harlem district specifically for their early childhood program,” she asserted.
On Nov. 17, Harlem unveiled its consolidation proposal. The district identified solutions to address decreasing enrollment, a $3.1 million deficit and lack of building utilized.
Its preferred plan, “Scenario 7,” overhauls elementary education in the Rockford region’s third-largest district. If approved by the school board, the proposal closes Maple and Olson Park elementary schools, assigns two-year “grade bands” in each building and shrinks preschool from 360 to 80 seats.
“We deeply value our Early Childhood program and the strong outcomes associated with early learning, and this recommendation reflects financial reality rather than a change in our instructional philosophy,” wrote Superintendent Terrell Yarbrough at the time.
The plan draws concern from Carstens.
“So there’s not gonna be an early childhood program for any child at Harlem that doesn’t have an IEP (Individualized Education Program), which is shocking.”
In a needs assessment from 2023, Birth to Five Illinois found 24,432 children under the age of 6 in Winnebago and Boone counties. The statewide organization advocating for early childhood education also reported only 10,238 spots for preschool — creating a gap of 14,194 seats.
Livia Bane from Birth to Five Illinois’ Region 4 has kept an eye on Harlem’s proposed consolidation. The district’s 80% reduction “definitely caught” her attention.
The regional council manager has worked in the early childhood field for 20+ years. She now oversees the Rockford area’s branch of the organization pushing for early childhood education.
“The return on the investment for early childhood is enormous at a 13% return rate,” she reported. “It is worth the investment and our children deserve it.”
She added nearly half of children between Winnebago and Boone counties live at 200% or below the poverty line — especially impacting Black, Hispanic or multi-racial kids. The manager sees early childhood education as opening the door for those students and more in future generations — with opportunities “nearly endless.”
Around 1,200 kids within the Harlem school district qualify for preschool, according to Bane. With spots possibly retreating, she fears the impact on families.
“There is nowhere else in the region to absorb those children.”
She also noted disbelief in the district’s possibility of discontinuing its Preschool for All programming.
As of now, the state funding provided $1,203,067 in each of Harlem’s last two school years. Yarbrough says staffing, transportation and more operating costs exceed the grant by more than $750,000 annually.
“For these reasons, we recommend discontinuing PFA while preserving targeted early childhood services that deliver the greatest returns and can be sustained within available resources,” wrote the superintendent.
For Bane, that’s an option — not a required change.
“This is a choice that Harlem District is making,” she maintained. The regional council manager pleaded for the district to wait until Illinois’ newest department launched: the Department of Early Childhood.
Starting fall 2026, the agency will work towards support “early learning systems” across the state.
Bane expects better coordination, funding support and more for districts’ preschool programming once the department arrives. She mentions districts like Rockford Public Schools handle PFA’s flat funding and keep early education.
“A lot of our programs are choosing to move forward and blend and braid their funding to keep the programs because they know how important it is to our future learners,” she described.
The manager warned Harlem will see lingering consequences if it cuts programming.
“We will see those effects when those children come back to kindergarten. They will be behind.”
Carstens held the district’s consideration of the 80% cut isn’t promising for its early childhood future.
“I think that the parents in the district are going to have a very difficult time believing that you will backpedal.”
Harlem didn’t respond to our request for comment as of Thursday night. The district paused its timeline for possible consolidation on Wednesday. Instead of a vote at the upcoming school board meeting, leaders will share next steps.
That discussion is set for 6 p.m., Dec. 15, inside Harlem High School.