The Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation is readying to expand its Pre-Kindergarten education program, as it participates in the Indiana “On My Way PreK†pilot program, as one of five counties that were selected to pilot the new initiative set to begin in mid-January 2015.
The EVSC will offer free early childhood education, breakfast, lunches and transportation, for qualifying four year olds and will join other public and private schools, as well as community based programs, licensed centers, registered ministries and licensed programs in homes in the area in this pilot. All providers must meet accreditation standards as identified by the Family and Social Services Administrations, which will administer this pilot.
To participate in the free program, families will need to apply to enroll their children through 4C of Southern Indiana, Inc., 600 SE 6th Street, and select one of the pilot sites in which to attend. In the EVSC, three new classrooms are planned, with an additional four to six by Fall 2015.
“The EVSC has invested in early childhood for over 25 years. We were the leaders in the state with full day kindergarten,†said Cathlin Gray, associate superintendent for Family, School, and Community Partnerships. “We have a team of highly experienced early childhood educators and support staff. This team is being led by our Director of Early Childhood, Terry Green. Gray explained that families will have the opportunity to choose to enroll in classes in the EVSC, which offers a five-hour a day program during the school year beginning in January.
Openings will be available at a variety of locations for students who choose EVSC through this pilot. “We will add a classroom at the Culver Family Learning Center, Evans, and Daniel Wertz and we currently have openings for children at Dexter,†Gray added.
Director of Early Childhood Education Terry Green said, “Early childhood education lays the groundwork for success later in school, but successfully preparing students to enter kindergarten on time and ready to learn.†Green said EVSC focuses on active learning – making learning fun for students, allowing them to explore and providing them new experiences with which to build knowledge.
Currently, the EVSC has fee and non-fee based Pre-K classrooms at Culver Family Learning Center, Daniel Wertz Elementary, Dexter Elementary, Scott Elementary, Cedar Hall Community School, Evans Elementary and Bosse High School.
FSSA is working to implement the major design phases of the program, which include devising plans for the longitudinal study for students, monitoring the design and implementation of a new kindergarten readiness assessment and the program accountability system, establishing guidelines and activation of fundraising activities, and making modifications to interagency IT and staffing infrastructure to support the pilot program.
4C of Southern Indiana will be open especially for families to enroll on Saturday, Dec. 13, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. For additional information, call 4C at 812-423-4008.
