As you enjoy what summer time means for your family, the crisp fall breeze is already right around the corner! Summer time is the best time to begin your search for a preschool that fits your family’s unique needs. To learn more about what high quality early learning is available to you, please call 833-FourYearOld today! One option you consider should be the Great Start Readiness Program. Throughout Michigan, high quality preschool classrooms that meet many of the highest early learning standards set by Great Start to Quality are available to eligible families at no cost.
What sets the Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) apart from other preschool classrooms?
- Lower teacher to child ratios! In most preschool classrooms, the ratio can be one teacher for every 10 children. In a Great Start Readiness Program classroom, the ratio is one teacher for every 8 children with no more than 18 children enrolled in a classroom.
- Highly nutritious meals and two daily snacks are included with enrollment for all children, with accommodations made for cultural restrictions and allergies as well.
- All teachers in the Great Start Readiness Program classrooms have either 1) a valid Michigan teaching certificate and an Early Childhood Education (ZA) or Early Childhood-General and Special Education (ZS) endorsement or 2) A bachelor’s degree in early childhood education or child development with a specialization in preschool teaching.
- Each classroom uses one research based curriculum to help your child meet their highest learning potential. A child-assessment tool also helps teachers plan activities based on what is learned from children’s work and anecdotal notes of their behaviors. This type of authentic assessment helps teachers to build on children’s individual skills and interests.
Research on preschool programs and specific research on GSRP indicates that children provided with a high-quality preschool experience show significant positive developmental differences when compared to children from the same backgrounds who did not attend a high-quality preschool program.
Great Start Readiness Program is a Michigan state-funded preschool program for four-year-old children with factors which may place them at risk of educational failure. The program is administered by the Michigan Department of Education, Office of Great Start. Funding is allocated to Wayne RESA to administer the program locally.
These blogs were developed and funded under a grant awarded by the Michigan Department of Education.
Research on preschool programs and specific research on GSRP indicates that children provided with a high-quality preschool experience show significant positive developmental differences when compared to children from the same backgrounds who did not attend a high-quality preschool program.