Children are ready to learn. They cultivate 85 percent of their intellect, personality and skills by age five. Young children need real interactions in order to learn. The first five years are also when children build the social and emotional skills they need to succeed in school. On the first day of kindergarten, teachers expect children to be able to follow directions, start and finish projects, and know when they need to ask for help. That’s where our VPI and Spanish Immersion Preschool Programs can help!

Both the Virginia Preschool Initiative Program (VPI) and the Spanish Immersion Pre-K Program offer three- and four-year-olds a quality preschool experience. Four-year-old VPI Preschool classes are located in all four of our elementary schools; Frederick Douglass Elementary, Garland Quarles Elementary, John Kerr Elementary, and Virginia Avenue Charlotte DeHart Elementary. One classroom for three-year-olds is located at John Kerr Elementary but is open to students from all WPS service areas. *NOTE: Our 3-year-old Pre-K class is pending budget approval for 24-25. Stay tuned for further announcements.*  

In Winchester Public Schools’ Preschool Programs, we focus on alignment that creates success. We create opportunities and close achievement gaps by aligning instructional practices with professional development and coaching, two necessary pillars in supporting high quality implementation. Our curricula are informed by research showing that high-quality, developmentally appropriate early learning produces the best results for all children. Our curriculum, The Creative Curriculum, is designed to engage children and empower them to develop language, math, critical thinking, and socio-emotional skills that prepare them for long-term academic and life success.

Guiding Principles of the Winchester Public Schools’ Preschool Programs are that children:

• aspire to be visible and valued;
• construct meaningful knowledge through intentional interactions and high engagement;
• experience, process, and interact with their surroundings in unique ways; and
• are capable of being partners in structuring their own learning. 

In our classrooms, children develop social-emotional and academic skills simultaneously, guided by reflective and engaged adults. Our professionals strive to frame cultural, developmental, and linguistic diversity as assets, rather than barriers, to quality experiences. Children gain the confidence, critical planning, and thinking skills that are necessary to meet the challenges and opportunities ahead.