Four new preschool classrooms will open at Baum School in January, bringing the number of preschool slots in Decatur’s public schools close to 700. “It’s pretty wonderful,” said Sarah Knuppel, principal of Pershing Early Learning Center, who oversees preschools districtwide. “Preschool funding has been quite good over the last few years, and the state announced in August that they had additional money available for new pre-K. The district wrote a grant for that money and got notification in October.”
Baum was chosen because the building could accommodate four classrooms, though the seats are available for any child in Decatur School District who turned four by September 1.