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Iowa's
Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program for Four-Year-Old Children
The purpose of this program is to provide an opportunity
for all children aged four in the State of Iowa to enter school ready to learn
by expanding voluntary access to quality curriculum based preschool. This is a
grant funded program awarded to Davenport Community Schools.
The scope of the grant includes a necessity to include in
the division of funds community partner agencies such as private parochial
preschools, community agency preschools, and any private preschool or daycare
that are willing to adopt appropriate curriculum and house a licensed teacher.
Requirements of the participating preschools:
1. Must have a licensed teacher licensed through the state
of Iowa in Early Childhood Education
2. Must have no more that 10 students per adult with a
limitation that each classroom will not exceed 20 students.
3. Must provide a minimum of 10 hours of curriculum based
programming per week.
4. Must provide a minimum of 35 sq feet of usable space per
child in each of the primary indoor activity areas.
5. Each preschool site is required to adhere to the
guidelines and report to the state adherence to the guidelines in the form of a
Site Self-assessment.
Within this
assessment the following areas are addressed:
- Building positive relationships among teachers, families and children
through socialization, consistent harmonious classrooms, and development of
self-regulation in each student.
- Curriculum content areas for cognitive development in science, language
development, early literacy development, mathematics, technology, expression
and appreciation for the arts, health and safety, and social studies.
- The teachers ability to organize the time and space available, control the
classroom through addressing challenging or disruptive behaviors, sight
supervision, ability to recognize each students interests and needs, as well
as their ability to deepen the students understanding of curriculum topics
and then build on their skills and knowledge.
- Maintaining an assessment plan to chart the growth on all areas of
children's development and learning including cognitive skills, language,
social-emotional development, approaches to learning health, and physical
development (including self-help skills)
- Adherence to approved nutrition and health requirements of all children
and staff to protect them from preventable illness and injury.
- Open communication between teacher or site and the student's family
through a variety of formal and informal strategies such as conversations,
written communications, open houses and parent-teacher conferences.
- Being the link between families and community agencies by maintaining a
current list of child and family support services available to families such
as health, mental health, oral health, nutrition, child welfare, parenting
programs, early intervention/special education screening and assessment
services, and basic needs such as housing and child care subsidies.
- Adherence to specific guidelines for space and a variety of age
appropriate and developmentally appropriate equipment, furniture and hands
on materials for both indoor and outdoor play.
- Leadership and managerial requirements of the program as well as fiscal
accountability policies, health, nutrition, and safety policies, and
personnel hiring policies for support staff there to assist the teachers.
6. Must provide accountability to the state through annual
reports designed to monitor all aspects of the program including but not limited
to cognitive growth of each student, spending of grant funds, and eligibility of
teachers and support staff.
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