Preschool

We are JCPS Preschool

JCPS PreK Applications have reached capacity. We cannot accept anymore JCPS applications!

If you have a 4 year old, for 2024-2025 school year, you will need to apply for NCPREK

JCPS Preschool is Proactive!  

  • We have 48 classrooms on 24 campuses.

  • We have 47 DCDEE licensed classrooms. 

  • We have 16 Separate Classrooms, and 32 Regular Early Childhood Program Classrooms.

  • Our ratio is 1 adult to every 6 children.

     

2024-2025 School year will will have the following:

  • 30 classrooms on 13 Campuses.

  • 13 Separate Settings

  • 13 Blended Settings

  • 4 NC PreK Settings

We implement the following:

Core Curriculum: Creative Curriculum, or Classrooms Alive, or ARIS

Literacy Curriculum: Heggerty, Tell Me Program

Social Emotional Curriculum: Second Step or The SPOT (SEL Curriculum).

We monitor students' growth through Teaching Strategies Gold (Online), JCPS PreK Assessment (BOY, MOY, EOY), Child Outcome Summaries, as well as Individual Education Plan Goal Data (Google Forms).

 

JOIN our JCPS PREK Team

Want to be a part of a Proactive Educational Team? JCPS PreK is Proactive!

Applicants apply through JCPS Human Resource Site

For Teacher and Teacher Assistant positions, candidates will need to apply to each school they are interested in.

How We Serve

Thank you for your interest in the Johnston County Public Schools Preschool.

Since North Carolina does not offer preschool for all children, children have to qualify for one of our preschool services in order to attend one of our classrooms. 

  1.  Johnston County Public Schools Exceptional Preschool is for children ages 3-5 who are eligible and in need of special education services. If you have concerns about your child's development or believe that they may be in need of special education services, please contact Joanna Bryant at 919-934-1697 x 1053 and we can discuss those concerns further and determine if a developmental screening is appropriate. 

  2. Fee for Service is a tuition-based program for 3 and 4 year old children, whose parents are local, state, or federal government employees. The 2022-2023 flat rate tuition for this program is $6,000.00 per school year. The Fee For Service application is closed at this time. 

  3. Head Start is a federally funded preschool for families meeting certain eligibility criteria.  I know that one of their main criteria is household income, but they do consider other factors as well.  Head Start programs are not located in JCPS locations, rather they operate centers in the Benson, Clayton, Princeton, Selma, and Smithfield areas. For more information about Head Start, please call 919-934-2145 and ask to speak with a Family Service Worker who would gladly tell you more about their program and process.

  4. NC Pre-K offers free preschool to children ages 4-5 (must be 4 on/before August 31st). NC Pre-K classrooms are located in many local childcare centers and in a large number of Johnston County Elementary Schools. If you are interested in NC Pre-K, please call Partnership for Children at 919-202-0002 to speak with a staff member regarding the application process. The application is online and can be found here.

  5. Our elementary schools offer Title 1 preschool. Eligibility for this program is based on developmental needs, and is free to families. For more information about Title 1 preschool visit our website and the application is closed at this time.

Which option is best for your child?

 

Title I

Head Start

NC PreK

Fee for Service

Exceptional Children’s

Is your child in need of additional academic support in preparation for kindergarten?

 O

 O

 O

 O

 O

Is your family at or below 75% of the state median income? 

 

 O

 O

 

 

Is your child eligible for special education or do you suspect your child has a disability?

 

 

 

 

 O

Are you interested in a tuition-based preschool option for your child?

 

 

 

 O

 

What We Teach

Each Item is a link to the website that can assist you in getting more information!

  • Whole Child Education: 
    When a whole child's education is being facilitated, education goes beyond simple academics and reaches the health, safety, social, emotional, support, and engagement of stakeholders.  In an early childhood classroom, it's highly beneficial to focus on academic expectations and to emphasize standards and literacy and math skills, but as educators of future citizens of the world, we also want to make sure that children's social—emotional development coexists and flourishes along with this academic rigor.

  • Preschool Pyramid Model:
    The Pyramid Model is a conceptual framework of evidence-based practices for promoting young children’s healthy social and emotional development.

  • Creative Curriculum:
    The Creative Curriculum® is research-based and supports the development of the whole child. High-quality, comprehensive resources empower educators to intentionally teach and care for our youngest learners during the most critical and formative years of development.

  • Second Step for Social and Emotional Learning Instruction

  • North Carolina Foundations of Early Learning and Development Standards:
    Foundations describe goals for all children’s development and learning, no matter what program they may be served in, what language they speak, what disabilities they may have, or what family circumstances they are growing up in. 

    • Approaches to Play and Learning

    • Emotional and Social Development

    • Health and Physical Development

    • Language Development and Communication

    • Cognitive Development

Literacy Instruction

Why We Serve

Johnston County Public Schools' Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG)

JCPS BHAG:

100% of its schools earn a school letter grade of A, B, or C by the end of the 2023-2024 school year.

Preschool's Relation to JCPS BHAG: 

  • We are working toward serving as many students as possible and as efficiently as possible.  

  • Utilizing our funding sources will allow us to continue to contribute to the schools being A B or C beyond 2023-2024.  

  • Preschool is a long-term plan to assist in maintaining and getting schools to be A or B. 

  • Equipping stakeholders with early education, before it MUST become an intervention.

  • Think of Preschool as a Proactive Investment!

Preschool Evaluation Center's Relation to JCPS BHAG: 

  • Provides an introduction to JCPS for families and community members

  • Through partnering with families, we are providing a positive experience that can be carried throughout the family's time with JCPS.

  • Conducts child-specific and developmentally-appropriate assessments of all areas of development, including autism, to determine children's strengths and needs. 

  • By making these educational diagnoses at a young age, when appropriate, saves the school-age team time and resources.

  • Provides a comprehensive and understandable explanation of the child's development to each child's stakeholder to assist in the child meeting goals and closing developmental gaps.

  • Improving a child's ability to be successful within the general curriculum

SUPPORT Opportunities

Opportunities To Show our Personnel Support

Contact Us

Patricia Robinson

Preschool Program Specialist

patriciarobinson@johnston.k12.nc.us

919.934.1697 

 

Alison Deese

Preschool Program Specialist

alisondeese@johnston.k12.nc.us

919-934-6031 ext. 1043

 

Kristine Kling

Preschool Program Specialist

kristinekling@johnston.k12.nc.us

919-934-1697 ext. 1048

 

Amy Oppenheim

Preschool Program Specialist

amyoppenheim@johnston.k12.nc.us

919.934.1697 ext. 1081

 

Lakesha Highsmith

Preschool Program Specialist

patriciarobinson@johnston.k12.nc.us

919-934-1697 ext. 1052

Joanna Bryant

Intake Specialist

joannabryant@johnston.k12.nc.us

919.934.1697 ext. 1053

 

Catherine Fouts

Case Manager

catherinefouts@johnston.k12.nc.us

919.934.1697 ext. 1045

 

Pam Biggs

Case Manager

pamelabiggs@johnston.k12.nc.us

919.934.1697 ext. 1050

 

Tonya Davis

Preschool Student Liaison / Bookkeeper

tonyadavis@johnston.k12.nc.us

919.934.1697  

 

Irene Escamilla

Preschool Parent Liaison / Data Manager / Interpreter

ireneescamilla@johnston.k12.nc.us

919.934.1697 ext. 1041