COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)–Columbus City Schools said it’s offering a new pre-k program that hundreds of families can benefit from and it’s online.

The district estimates there are roughly 1,800 preschool-aged children in the district that are not signed up for in-class instruction.

The district is expanding a partnership in an effort to connect 4-year-old students to a classroom that can be used in their own homes. A simple click and learning can unfold.

“If they come to kindergarten already with those skills, then they’re able to hit the ground running,” said Dr. Terra Baker, the Director of Early Childhood Education for CCS.

The district and Waterford are looking to enroll 4-year-olds in a new online program. Students can log on five days a week for 15-minute activities aimed at boosting literacy, math, and science skills. It’s the same program pre-k students utilize in the classroom.

“For them to have their students have access to the same quality content that other students who are able to attend our programs are receiving and they’ll be that much more ready and prepared for kindergarten,” said Baker about why they decided to do this.

She added this is an option for parents who have concerns about covid-19 or also lack transportation to brick-and-mortar settings. They can enroll up to 1800 students and Waterford Upstart will provide coaches for families.

“Will check in on them answer any questions they may have. sometimes kiddos will hit a snag and the coach can help the parent walk them through that,” said Kim Fischer with Waterford.org.

Push notifications will also be sent out to track progress and what students are mastering and what could use the extra time.

“It figures out what the child needs to focus on and when they hit mastery of that topic then they move on but the program changes in ways that they don’t understand that they’re doing the same thing over and over again cause that would lead to boredom — so we make sure the child reaches mastery before moving to the next step,” said Fischer.

It is a fully online option with no costs to families. The district will provide equipment.

“Everyone would get a device and they also get a hotspot if they don’t have internet access in their homes,” said Dr. Baker.

So far, about 75 families had signed up. Baker added, families can also create other profiles for kids in the household. The program has content from pre-k to 2nd grade.

Click here to learn more and how you can sign up.