TO QUALIFY, CHILDREN MUST BE THREE OR FOUR YEARS OLD BY SEPTEMBER 30 OF EACH SCHOOL YEAR.

The Virginia Preschool Initiative, (VPI) began in 1994 as a part of a program to improve educational achievement. This initiative serves at-risk three and four-year-olds who are not served by the federal program Head Start. The purpose of the program is to reduce the disparities among young children upon formal school entry and to reduce or eliminate those risk factors that may lead to early academic failure.  Students must be three or four years old by September 30 of each school year in order to be eligible for the program. VPI classrooms are located in each of the five elementary schools in Pulaski County:

            • Critzer Elementary
            • Dublin Elementary
            • Pulaski Elementary
            • Riverlawn Elementary
            • Snowville Elementary

Pulaski County Public Schools operate preschool programs for three and four-year-olds. The application process for each school year will begin in February and continue until mid-April. The initial screening and review are expected to take place once the pre-application period is over and will be concluded at the end of May. You can come by any elementary school office and pick up an application or call and ask that an application be sent to you. We will also have information and applications for preschool at each elementary school’s kindergarten registration. Submitting an application does not necessarily mean acceptance into a program. Applicants must meet eligibility criteria. Eligibility is determined by a point system that considers income level, health issues, family circumstances, and developmental needs. We usually have more applications than spaces, so it is important that you get an application in early. The application is available online and in all elementary schools.

• Full-day program based on the district school calendar

• Monday through Friday

• School bus transportation provided

• Certified teacher and paraprofessional in each classroom

• No fee or tuition

• Family participation is required

• Breakfast and lunch is provided

Each VPI classroom serves no more than 20 students with one teacher and one highly qualified para-educator providing a staff/child ratio of 10:1. Classes meet on all school days classes are in session.

The Virginia Preschool Initiative emphasizes collaboration among the home, school, and community to provide a quality program that fosters the development of the whole child. A safe, nurturing environment is provided at each location which promotes active exploration, curiosity, and an excitement for learning.

The curriculum used by the VPI program revolves around a language-rich environment and follows the new set of comprehensive early learning and developmental standards for young children, birth to age five.    The new standards, Virginia's Early Learning and Development Standards (ELDS), Birth-Five Learning Guidelines (PDF), focus on five "Areas of Development": Approaches to Play and Learning, Social and Emotional Development, Communication, Language, and Literacy Development, Health and Physical Development and Cognitive Development (Science, Social Sciences: People, Community and Culture, Mathematics and Fine Arts).

The VPI classrooms use the STREAMin3 curriculum, which is a comprehensive curriculum model for birth-to-five classrooms that focuses on academic and social-emotional learning.

Information provided is summarized from details found on the VDOE Website.