MOLINE -- Not all of the puzzle pieces fit exactly where their 3-year-old hands tried to place them, but with the encouragement of teacher Kara Banfield, the nine children tried to make the pictures.

About two weeks ago, Ericsson Elementary School in Moline opened two half-day, five-day-a-week preschool programs. There is one morning and one afternoon program to serve 3- to 5-year-olds from the surrounding neighborhood.

It is a bilingual program. Students are taught in their native language, in this case Spanish. The preschool includes an English-as-a-Second-Language component where the children also are learning English.

Stephanie Jordan, the Moline School District's English Language Learners program head teacher, said in many ways it is a dual-language program. The classroom library offers books in both Spanish and English. A bulletin board, where finger-painted apples are pinned, says "Art" and "Arte" -- the Spanish spelling. The teacher and teacher's aide, Sara Skinner, seamlessly speak to the children in both languages.

Principal Pat Alexander said research shows how important it is for bilingual students to grasp concepts completely in their own language first before transitioning to English.

"One of the goals of any prekindergarten program is language development," said Ms. Jordan. "These kids are getting language development in their native language, which will make them stronger learners, and later in the day they are getting English skills on top of language development," she said.

"The result, like any other preschool program, is more successful learners," she said.

The district received a renewable $120,000 state Preschool for All grant to fully fund the preschool programs at Ericsson.

The goal is to have 20 students in each session. Currently, there are nine 3-year-olds in the morning and 10 4- to 5-year-olds in the afternoon. District officials expect those numbers to increase quickly.

There already are two bilingual classrooms at Jefferson Early Childhood Center, but the center had 41 people on a waiting list.

Ericsson has an under-served population when it comes to preschool, Ms. Jordan said. "Many of these children, but not all, are second-generation Americans. They may come from a home where preschool is not a part of their cultural heritage," she said.

Their parents are also hesitant to send their children on a bus to go to Jefferson across town, so in the past, many stayed home.

"This is a program where children can walk with their parents to get here," Ms. Jordan said, "and because there is a parent education component, we can help parents understand how they can help their child be successful, not just in preschool, but throughout their educational career."

Parent education includes teaching the parents how they can be involved in their child's education.

"If you can start at preschool and make it be a regular part of the routine, and help parents understand how they can make a difference and how to go about it, then we will have more successful students," Ms. Alexander said.

"We are working for the success of these kids and their families," Ms. Jordan said, adding the state Preschool for All funding shows that preschool is a priority in Illinois. "What a proactive educational use of dollars. Why wouldn't we want to give a child the most positive feeling we could about their education?"