As a result of a comprehensive planning effort, the school district decided to use 85 percent of its Title I funds to get children ready for school in collaboration with Head Start, special education, and other public and private partners. Bright Beginnings serves children who are selected through an assessment process that uses developmentally appropriate measures. Children are served in one of three prekindergarten centers or in prekindergarten classrooms in neighborhood elementary schools within the district. Staff at Bright Beginnings actively engage families in their children's learning at home and at school, and parents report tremendous satisfaction with the program and with their involvement in the growth, development, and learning of their children. All teachers are early childhood specialists who have at least a bachelor's degree and are certified to teach by the state.
Professional development is continuous.
Each classroom of 18 or 19 children has a teacher and a teacher's aide. The district has developed its own prekindergarten curriculum, content standards, and performance expectations that set high expectations for every child's growth, development, and learning. All states fund some type of initiatives for children from birth to age 3, some of which meet new parents in hospitals at the birth of their child and provide follow-up home visits to ensure that parents understand their parenting responsibilities and have access to support services for themselves and their children when needed. The federally funded Head Start program has expanded to serve children birth to age 3 and their families, and is reaching out to pregnant women before their children are born. And, under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part C, states receive financial assistance for maintaining and implementing statewide, comprehensive, multidisciplinary systems to provide early intervention services to infants and toddlers with disabilities from birth through age 2, and their families.