The District may establish a pre-kindergarten program based on the premise that the District's teachers, support staff, and physical facilities can offer a quality of experiences that are not provided by area nursery schools. If such a program is provided and it is not possible for the District to provide such a program for all four-year-old children in the District, those children in greatest need will be sought and identified.
The objectives of the program are to:
- Identify children with incipient problems of a social, emotional, and/or physical nature, regardless of whether they are related to maturational development;
- Provide an educational experience that will ameliorate or eliminate these problems at an early age, thereby deterring adjustment and/or learning problems from developing in subsequent years;
- Identify children who do not have facility in the English language and provide experiences that enhance and accelerate the development of such a facility;
- Identify children who would not otherwise attend a nursery school prior to entering public school and provide them with equal learning opportunities;
- Provide experiences for the parents of these children through a volunteer aide program whereby they can become oriented to the task of the school and how their role as parents might relate to the task as it affects their children; and
- Provide learning experiences in early childhood education and child care for high school students through cooperative arrangements with the district high school.
Policy History:
First Reading: 11/26/02
Adopted on: 1/28/03