Pre-K

Our acclaimed Pre-K Learning Blocks program is second to none in Mississippi.

In its 2021 State of Preschool report, the National Institute for Early Education Research recognized Mississippi’s Early Learning Collaborative program as one of only five states in the nation that met all or most quality standards for early childhood education.

Among Mississippi’s 18 early learning collaboratives, Grenada’s Pre-K program has routinely showed the greatest gains in student performance and the highest performance scores in the state.

This top-flight program for three- and four-year-olds continues to soar. Our classrooms are developmentally appropriate and designed to encourage children to learn through play and hands-on experience. In addition to early reading and math, children learn valuable social skills like sharing, cooperation, and communicating.

Each classroom has a certified teacher and assistant who teach reading, writing, and math, as well as introduce them to art, computers, and cooking. There’s also plenty of playtime and extended care options for working parents.

By giving young children an early learning advantage, our Pre-K program is paving the way for the future of our school and community.

OUR PROGRAM

Academics & Social Skills

We staff the classes with certified teachers who specialize in early learning, along with assistants, providing a one-to-ten teacher-student ratio. We’ve met all the state guidelines for these early-learning classes.

The classroom environment is fun and energetic. There’s a lot of movement, music, games, and hands-on activities. Three-year-old classes focus on learning the alphabet, counting to 20, colors and rhyming words. Students will be able to write their names. They will listen to stories and talk about what they heard.

Four-year-old classes build and expand on these skills, as well as adding and subtracting, often using manipulatives for a hands-on learning experience. Students learn to read an extensive list of sight words and are often reading simple stories by the end of the year.

We’re proud to say that our students regularly exceed our high expectations, not only in academics but in self-confidence and social skills as well.

In our classes, students learn to work with others and take direction from adults other than their parents. They learn about the Red Top building, how to maneuver around from their classroom to the different "specials" where they learn new skills. They are taught appropriate behavior for school, which will help their development and communication skills as they progress through later grades.

We enjoy watching the children in this program advance beyond Pre-K and push the limits of what kindergarteners are expected to achieve.

Age Appropriate

When we first conceived the idea of a Pre-K program, our top priority was creating an age-appropriate environment. The prospect of sending a three- or four-year-old child to school where they attend classes in the same building as kids up to twice their age can be intimidating, both for parents and students.

For our first Pre-K class last year, we had the students come in a week earlier than the older kids to get them acclimated to the school, and we were amazed how quickly they adjusted. They learned the building, how to navigate the cafeteria, how to walk quietly in the hall, and how to stay in line. By the end of the school year, you couldn’t tell our Pre-K class from the kindergarten class!

To create the learning environment of our Pre-K classrooms, we turned to the experts at Hatch, an education company that has been designing innovative classrooms for over thirty years. Everything they designed for the Pre-K classes was developmentally appropriate for young children, from the furniture to the centers to the hands-on activities. We even installed a new playground, made especially for and used only by the Pre-K classes. The area is fenced-in and has rubber mulch to cut down on scratches and bruises.

Our three- and four-year-olds attend the same elective classes as our older kids, including PE, art, computer lab, music, and the Kidzeum. Activities are scaled down to age-appropriate level while still introducing new concepts and sparking the childrens’ imaginations.

Guidelines

The Learning Blocks program is tuition-based at $275 a month for 10 months. The summer program is also $275 monthly.
The program follows guidelines and requirements as dictated by the Mississippi Department of Education.
Each classroom will have a certified teacher and an assistant teacher. In the Four-Year-Old program, no more than 20 students will be in each classroom. In the Three-Year-Old program, no more than 14 students will be in each classroom.
Once accepted into the program, children will complete a screener. The screening instrument is the Battelle Developmental Inventory.
Breakfast and lunch are provided during the regular school year, as well as snacks for extended care. Students must bring lunches and snacks. for the summer program.
Transportation is the parents’ responsibility.

Hours of Operation

How to Apply...

Selection for Learning Blocks is on a first-come, first-serve basis, and students must be fully potty-trained.

The application process begins Jan. 22, 2024, and lasts until Feb. 2, 2024, for enrollment the following school year. (To be added to the waiting list, fill out an application here.)

For the Four-Year-Old program, children must be four years old by 9/1/24 and must be fully potty-trained.

For the Three-Year-Old program, children must be three years old by 9/1/24 and must be fully potty-trained.

A summer program is open to four-year-old students who are entering or have just completed the Pre-K program.

Application Information

Consider allocating your state income tax to Grenada Elementary's Pre-K Learning Blocks program.

Read here to find out how.

In 2013, the Mississippi State Legislature approved the Early Learning Collaborative Act. Private schools and care centers, as well as Head Start programs, were allowed to partner with public school districts to receive partial state funding for early education. GSD partnered with the local Head Start to form the Learning Blocks Collaborative for three- and four-year-olds in Grenada County. Each year our program grows larger and stronger, and our students continue to lead the state in academic growth.

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