Voluntary Prekindergarten Parent Handbook

Transcription

1 Voluntry Prekindergrten Prent Hndbook

2 Wht is Voluntry Prekindergrten (VPK)?

3 Voluntry Prekindergrten (VPK) is legisltively mndted progrm designed to prepre every four-yer-old in Florid for kindergrten nd build the foundtion for their eductionl success. The VPK progrm gives ech child n opportunity to perform better in school nd throughout life with qulity progrms tht include high litercy stndrds, ccountbility, pproprite curricul, substntil instruction periods, mngeble clss sizes, nd qulified instructors. All eligible four-yer-olds re entitled to prticipte in one of the VPK progrm options. VPK Vision Tht Florid s children re eger to lern nd redy to succeed when they enter kindergrten. VPK Mission To ensure tht ll children re intellectully, emotionlly, physiclly nd socilly redy to enter school nd redy to lern, fully recognizing the crucil role of prents s their child s first techer. Highlights of the VPK progrm High qulity eductionl progrm with n erly litercy focus. FREE for ll children four yers old on or before September 1st who reside in Florid. Prent choice is priority; therefore, both privte nd public providers my prticipte.

4 Prents Rights

5 As prent, you hve the right to mke n informed VPK choice using one of the following methods: If you hve Internet ccess, visit the Deprtment of Children nd Fmilies website com/childcre/provider to obtin VPK profiles of ech privte provider nd public school you re considering. Contct your Erly Lerning Colition (ELC). ELCs work within ll communities in Florid to implement our erly lerning support services. Your ELC hs dditionl informtion bout the VPK progrm nd ppliction process. ELC contct informtion cn be found t or by clling (TTY:711). If you do not hve Internet ccess, you my request copy of the profiles of ech VPK provider nd school in your county from the locl ELC. You my lso contct your locl Child Cre Resource nd Referrl (CCR&R) office to receive customized list of VPK providers in your re tht meet the needs of your fmily, s well s informtion bout other community resources. CCR&R services re free to nyone residing in or seeking erly lerning services in Florid. For the number of your locl CCR&R, plese cll the Agency for Workforce Innovtion Office of Erly Lerning toll free: (TTY: 711). Prent choice is priority for the VPK progrm. You re encourged to mke n informed decision bout your VPK provider. Eligible providers include fmily child cre homes, privte centers, public schools, nd fith-bsed progrms tht meet VPK progrmmtic nd qulity stndrds. As prent, you hve the right to select VPK progrm option tht meets your needs, including: School-yer progrm 540 instructionl hours; OR Summer Progrm 300 instructionl hours; children my prticipte in the VPK progrm the summer immeditely before the school yer in which the child is eligible for kindergrten. VPK progrm services vry bsed on the progrm selected. VPK providers hve flexibility in structuring the hours per dy nd dys per week to meet the required instructionl hours. You re encourged to find the progrm tht best meets your fmily s needs.

6 As prent, you hve the right to enroll in VPK progrm tht gurntees the following: An pproved VPK progrm t no cost to you for the VPK hours of opertion. Prticiption in either the school-yer progrm or the summer progrm. The choice of pying for extended dy services or wrp round cre if it is offered t the VPK provider you select. Wrp round cre is ny cre offered by the provider in ddition to the regulr VPK hours. The VPK progrm is FREE for eligible children. Providers re not permitted to chrge registrtion fee or require you to gree to ny dditionl services or wrp round services s condition of enrollment in the VPK progrm. Stte lw does not, however, prohibit provider from chrging fees for progrms or cre tht re not prt of the VPK progrm (e.g., lte chrges, mels/sncks, field trips, extended cre, or wrp round cre). If field trips re prt of the VPK dy providers my request tht prent contribute, but not require them to do so. The provider must lso hve n lterntive ctivity for child tht does not ttend field trip. Before finlizing your selection, review the VPK provider s discipline nd ttendnce policies to become informed of progrm policies nd prctices. As prent, you hve the right to select VPK Provider tht meets the following required stndrds: VPK privte providers must hve director credentil. VPK privte providers must be licensed (child cre, fmily child cre home, or lrge fmily child cre home); or be exempt from licensure (privte school or fith-bsed provider); or be ccredited by n pproved ccrediting ssocition. To best meet the needs of ech child nd to prepre them for future success, VPK curriculum must be ligned with the stte performnce stndrds. During the selection process, consider visiting the Deprtment of Children nd Fmilies website or clling your ELC office to confirm the progrm is eligible.

7 As prent, you hve the right to select VPK progrm tht employs certified VPK instructors nd meets minimum clssroom requirements, including: Every led VPK instructor must hve t minimum: Child Development Associte for the schoolyer progrm; or Bchelor s degree or higher in certin eduction-relted progrms for the summer progrm. VPK clssroom rtios must be one instructor to every 10 children. VPK clss size must not exceed 18 children in the school-yer progrm. VPK clss size must not exceed 10 children in the summer progrm. Techer qulifictions re importnt to the delivery of qulity instruction; therefore, VPK instructors must meet minimum eduction stndrds. Rtio nd group size re lso indictors of qulity. As prt of your decisionmking process, sk potentil VPK providers bout techer qulifictions nd clssroom requirements. As prent, you hve the right to select VPK progrm tht delivers qulity instruction including: A curriculum tht is developmentlly pproprite with focus on erly litercy skills. A VPK progrm tht prepres your child to be redy for kindergrten bsed on the VPK stndrds dopted by the Stte Bord of Eduction. To best meet the needs of ech child nd to prepre them for future school success, VPK curriculum must be individully nd ge pproprite, nd be ligned with stte performnce stndrds. The stte performnce stndrds provide guidelines to techers on wht children should know nd be ble to do in order to help pln instructionl ctivities for your child. Instructionl ctivities involve enggement in child-initited nd techer-directed ply opportunities. When mking decisions bout the best VPK provider for your child, sk bout curriculum nd plnned ctivities to determine if the progrm ctivities meet your expecttions bout qulity erly lerning prctices.

8 As prent, you hve the right to enroll your four yer old in VPK progrm (subject to the provider s or school s greement to dmit your child), including fmilies: Who hve child with disbility; most privte VPK providers nd ll school district VPK providers re required to mke their progrms ccessible to children with disbilities under the Americns with Disbilities Act nd Section 504 of the Rehbilittion Act. In the militry, temporrily bsed in Florid. Who my be displced due to hurricne or other nturl disster or re temporrily homeless. The only residency requirement is tht children live in Florid during the time they re ttending VPK progrm. This mens tht four-yer-old children living temporrily in Florid re eligible for services. As prent, you hve the right to withdrw your child from the VPK progrm t ny time. You my lso hve the right to re-enroll your four yer old in nother VPK progrm under specific conditions: A prent my re-enroll his/her eligible child in the summer progrm if his/her child completed less thn 10% of the school-yer VPK hours. A prent my re-enroll his/her eligible child within the sme progrm type, s long s the child hs completed less thn 60% of VPK hours. VPK is progrm in which prents of eligible four-yerold children cn voluntrily enroll their child for services. If you hve ny questions bout eligibility, contct your ELC or the Agency for Workforce Innovtion Office of Erly Lerning toll free: (TTY:711).

9 Prents Responsibilities

10 As prent, you hve the responsibility to comply with Dte of Birth Verifiction Requirements by providing copy of t lest one of the following pproved supporting documents tht show the child s nme nd dte of birth: An originl or certified copy of the child s birth record; An originl or certified copy of the child s certificte of bptism ccompnied by n ffidvit sworn to by the child s prent tht the certificte is correct; An insurnce policy on the child s life which is in force for t lest two yers; A religious record of the child s birth which is ccompnied by n ffidvit sworn to by the child s prent tht the record is correct; A pssport or certificte of rrivl in the United Sttes; An immuniztion record signed by helth officer or doctor; A vlid militry dependent identifiction crd; or The prent my submit n ffidvit of the child s ge sworn to or ffirmed by the prent, ccompnied by certificte of ge reflecting the child s birth dte, signed by public helth officer or by licensed prcticing physicin, which sttes tht the physicin hs exmined the child nd believes tht the ge s stted in the ffidvit is substntilly correct. Prents must provide documenttion to prove tht their child meets the ge requirements for VPK. A child must be four yers of ge on or before September 1st to be eligible for VPK. If you hve ny questions bout ge requirements for VPK, contct your ELC or the Agency for Workforce Innovtion Office of Erly Lerning toll free: (TTY:711).

11 As prent, you hve the responsibility to comply with Residentil Address Verifiction Requirements by providing copy of t lest one of the following supporting documents tht show the nme nd residentil ddress of the prent with whom the child resides: Utility bill; Bnk sttement; Insurnce policy; Py stub; Government issued document (e.g., driver s license); An ffidvit of the child s residentil ddress sworn to by the prent, if it is ccompnied by letter from lndlord which confirms tht the child resides t the sme ddress shown in the prent s ffidvit; A militry order issued to the prent, if child s prent is service member of the United Sttes Armed Forces, which shows tht the prent will reside in Florid when the child ttends the VPK progrm (e.g., permnent chnge of sttion); or Documenttion of residency for homeless child bsed on other documents (e.g., letter from homeless shelter). Prents must provide documenttion to prove tht their child lives in Florid during the time they will be ttending VPK progrm. A child living in Florid is eligible for VPK with the proper documenttion for eligibility. If you hve ny questions bout residency requirements, contct your ELC or the Agency for Workforce Innovtion Office of Erly Lerning toll free: (TTY:711). As prent, you hve the responsibility to ensure your child prticiptes in kindergrten screening You hve the responsibility to comply with the kindergrten screening process tht will occur when your child enrolls in kindergrten. All children prticipting in VPK will be screened upon kindergrten entry. The kindergrten screening is process tht will help us better understnd how much your child lerned through VPK. It will lso help your child s kindergrten techer understnd wht your child knows nd cn do, which will help with instructionl plnning.

12 As prent, you re responsible for your child s VPK Trnsporttion Prents re responsible for their child s trnsporttion to nd from the VPK progrm. Some VPK providers my offer trnsporttion services t cost. Fmilies re encourged to explore these options before choosing VPK provider. As prent, you re responsible for complying with the VPK ttendnce nd other progrm policies Prents hve the responsibility to comply with the ttendnce policies for the VPK progrm in which their child is enrolled. Prents hve the responsibility to comply with ll of the VPK provider s policies (e.g., discipline, lte fees). Providers hve individul policies relted to ttendnce, discipline, nd lte fees. Prents re strongly encourged to become fmilir with the policies tht pply to children in the VPK progrm before enrolling their child in the progrm.

13 Informtion Resources

14 Agency for Workforce Innovtion- Office of Erly Lerning The Office of Erly Lerning provides stte-level support nd direction for the implementtion of the VPK progrm, s well s other erly lerning progrms or (TTY: 711) Erly Lerning Colition (ELC) ELCs hve dditionl informtion on VPK, including ppliction procedures nd dtes to pply in your county (TTY: 711) Deprtment of Children & Fmilies (DCF) The Deprtment of Children nd Fmilies regultes licensed child cre fcilities, licensed fmily child cre homes, nd licensed mildly ill fcilities in 60 of Florid s 67 counties Florid Abuse Hotline The Florid Abuse Hotline provides full spectrum of services, from prenting clsses nd respite cre to trnsporttion nd child cre. The gol of the deprtment is to keep children sfe in their own fmilies when possible ABUSE or Florid s Centrl Directory of Erly Childhood Services The Centrl Directory provides informtion nd referrl services on disbilities nd specil helth cre needs for fmilies, service coordintors nd other professionls tht work with children with specil needs Florid Deprtment of Eduction- Office of Erly Lerning The Office of Erly Lerning is responsible for VPK curriculum nd ccountbility Florid KidCre Florid KidCre is the helth insurnce progrm for uninsured children younger thn ge is ntionl informtion nd referrl service tht provides informtion nd referrls to humn services such s crisis intervention services, support groups, finncil ssistnce, nd job trining. Dil 211

15 Prents Rights As prent, I hve the right to select VPK progrm options tht meet my child s needs. As prent, I hve the right to enroll in either school-yer or summer free VPK progrm. As prent, I hve the right to select VPK progrm tht employs VPK instructors nd meets minimum clssroom requirements. As prent, I hve the right to select VPK progrm tht follows pproved VPK curriculum nd guidelines. As prent, I hve the right to enroll my four-yerold child in VPK progrm. As prent, I hve the right to mke n informed VPK choice. Prents Responsibilities As prent, I m responsible for complying with dte of birth verifiction requirements. As prent, I m responsible for complying with residentil ddress verifiction requirements. As prent, I m responsible for ensuring my child prticiptes in kindergrten screening. As prent, I m responsible for my child s VPK trnsporttion. As prent, I m responsible for complying with the provider s ttendnce nd other progrm policies.

16 Agency for Workforce Innovtion or or cll toll free t: (1-866 FL READY) (TTY: 711) FORM AWI-VPK 06 08/15/2006