Giles County Public Schools is very excited to have the opportunity to have four-year-old preschools at all three of our elementary schools. The goal is to provide a high-quality preschool experience for every child. Our programs include the Virginia Preschool Initiative Program (VPI), the Virginia Preschool Initiative Program-Plus Program (VPI+), County Tuition Program and a program for special needs for three and four-year old children. In addition, the school system collaborates with Head Start to provide preschool services to as many children as possible who live in Giles County. With the exception of the Tuition Program, these programs are state and federally funded and have specific criteria for enrollment. Our preschool programs provide a dynamic, nurturing and play-based setting for every child to learn. Our program promotes healthy social, emotional, and physical development. We provide high quality academic instruction that encourages life-long learning and focuses on the growth of the whole child.
All of our programs use the Creative Curriculum for Preschool. Creative Curriculum is a comprehensive set of resources that assists teachers as they plan content-rich programs for children with diverse backgrounds and developmental levels. We have a Family Engagement Coordinator in place, whose role it is to work with VPI+ teachers to identify family needs and help build protective factors, engage families in the program, and build family skills as decision makers and advocates. In addition, our teachers receive practiced based coaching and focused professional development on critical topics such as classroom interactions and environments, content area practice, formative assessment and individualized instruction.