ROCKFORD, Mich. — Rockford Public Schools transformed a former elementary school into Parkside Early Childhood Center in 2025 to meet high demand for quality daycare. Now all classrooms are full, with over 200 kids attending.
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Four-year-old Nate Prokes is among the students excited to be at Parkside Early Childhood Center. His father, Ian Prokes, chose the public option for both financial and educational reasons.
"We wanted to put our son into the public school system early and get him going in the system so that he can grow up as a Rockford public school student and not be in the private daycare, which is a little more expensive," Ian Prokes said.
Beyond saving money, Prokes says Parkside feels like a school day for his son rather than traditional daycare.
"He's got more things that are focused on him learning fine motor skills, learning to identify colors, words, letters, things like that. Daycare, I felt more it was like a babysitting sometimes," he said.
Principal Melissa Cochrill, who also serves as Director of Preschool and Child Care Services, emphasizes the educational focus.
"I think parents are really looking for an option of high-quality education, and we provide high-quality education. We're not a daycare. We are preschool. We are a school," Cochrill said.
Parkside has grown to eight full-day preschool classrooms along with three developmental kindergarten classrooms.
"The nice part about being in the same building as DK is we're able to collaborate as well, make sure we're doing that vertical learning, so we're getting kids ready for the district's DK or kindergarten classrooms," Cochrill said.
Rockford School's early learning enrollment has almost doubled since the 2024-2025 school year. This year they have 141 kids enrolled in full-day preschool and 216 developmental kindergarten students district-wide.
"We are always, you know, trying to accommodate as many children as we can, because we feel like education is very important," Cochrill said.
For Ian Prokes, Parkside provides peace of mind.
"It's really nice to be able to have a place to take my kid and trust that he's going to be taken care of and educated," he said.
Enrollment for the 2026-2027 school year begins in February. There is currently a short waitlist. More information is available at rockfordschools.org.
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