Florida Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten

VPK Fact Sheet for Families - English

VPK Fact Sheet for Families - Spanish

Voluntary Pre-K – for all children who are 4 on or by September 1.

VPK School Year Program is 3 hours per day for 180 days (regular school calendar) for 540 hours.
Transportation: School Bus
Cost: Free to all 4-year old children for 3 hours per day for 180 days.

VPK Summer Program is for 300 hours in the summer.
Transportation: Parent Responsibility.

School Readiness – for children who are 3 or 4 by September 1 and qualify by School Readiness guidelines (income and parent working requirements).
Cost: Sliding fee scale based on family income as determined by the Early Readiness Coalition.

Pre-K Special Needs – for children who are 3 or 4 years old and have an identified eligibility by state guidelines.
Cost: No Charge to Eligible Students
Parent Pay – for children who are 3 or 4 years old and parents are willing to pay a fee (based on available space).
Cost: $22/day with $6/day scholarship for daily attendance.
Staff: Masters Level Certified Teachers, Bachelors Level Certified Teachers, National Child Development Associates, Florida Equivalency Child Development Associates.
Curriculum: Opening the World of Learning, Second Step Character Development.
Screenings/Assessments: All children are given a pre and post DIAL to measure and track progress. The “Get Ready to Read” is given at the beginning, middle, and end of the year to determine each child’s readiness for Kindergarten.

Screenings are held at Bell Elementary School and Trenton Elementary School monthly to identify students who qualify for one of our programs.

Spring Roundup is held each spring to identify children for possible placement in one of our programs for the upcoming year.

To schedule a screening appointment for your child, please call:
Carolyn Thomas, Bell Elementary School, (352) 463-3289
Lori Summers, Trenton Elementary School, (352) 463-3224

Related Services: Speech/Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy are offered to children who qualify based on state guidelines.

Accreditation:
• NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children
• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

All children in the state of Florida are eligible for 540 hours of Voluntary Pre-K services at no charge to the parents during the school year. We also offer Summer Voluntary Pre-K for 300 hours during the summer. In Gilchrist County , we have blended our classrooms to include Voluntary Pre-K students, School Readiness students, Pre-K Special Needs students and students who pay a fee to attend. It is our goal to make our Pre-K programs available to as many students as possible. We believe that all children are our concern, and we want to help as many children get ready for Kindergarten as we possibly can by offering our services through a variety of programs.

Additional information:
Voluntary Pre-K/Special Needs Programs
Marilyn Beach, Pre-K Lead Teacher, 352) 463-4405

Head Start/Early Head Start
Main Office: (352) 586-5530
(800) 303-7812
cfarrell@ccresources.org

To apply for a Voluntary Pre-K Certificate of Eligibility or apply for School Readiness, please contact: Child Care Resources at (352) 493-6812.

Voluntary Pre-K and School Readiness programs are contracted through the Early Learning Coalition of the Nature Coast. For more information call (352) 490-5855.

GILCHRIST COUNTY SCHOOLS NAEYC ACCREDITATION