The Florida voluntary Pre-kindergarten education program (VPK) is available, free of charge, for children who are four years old, on or before Sept. 1st of the current school year. This program is 3 hours a day, 5 days a week. We offer a morning or an afternoon session. Parents may choose to extend their child’s day for an additional fee.
Interested in learning more about the early learning coalition of Duval’s free VPK programs?
According to the state of Florida, 80% of all Florida four year olds attend VPK. Of those children, 79% who finished VPK were ready for kindergarten while only 55% of children who didn’t attend VPK were kindergarten ready..
The number one educational priority for any quality VPK program is to prepare children for kindergarten. At the Discovery Tree Academy, each teacher creates a daily schedule which is posted inside the classroom and is consistently followed. This creates a safe, structured learning environment where your child feels confident discovering and exploring as part of their daily lessons.
Our teachers use the Funny Daffer Curriculum and the Florida Early Learning and Developmental Standards to create lesson plans that are fun, engaging and challenging. Lessons are sometimes child-directed and sometimes teacher-directed, depending on the activity or objective. All of our VPK lesson plans address the five domains of early learning:
Everyday children are engaged in large group circle time, small group & individual instruction, and learning center exploration. Free choices enable children to explore their world with greater curiosity. Consequently, these young learners use trial and error to exhibit more complex reactions to people and objects. In our learning centers, we provide magnifying glasses, various art supplies, sensory tables, magnets, and math manipulatives. As our VPK children learn and play our teachers interact with them, asking questions and guiding them in conversations to build their language and vocabulary.
In the VPK program The Discovery Tree Academy® program teachers assess your child’s growth and development by using four research-based assessments:
These assessments help us ensure your child is ready for kindergarten and beyond. Assessments, work samples, teacher observations and individualized lesson plans are compiled in your child’s portfolio and shared at family teacher conferences near the beginning, middle and the end of our VPK program. Families will be thrilled by the progress their children make during our VPK program, and the portfolio is an excellent tool to showcase that development.
Procare Connect is a fantastic resource that allows you to access the class newsletter and lesson plans. Your teacher will share photos and messages about the need for extra supplies and how you can reinforce your child’s learning at home.
The partnership between Discovery Tree Academy teachers and our families is crucial to ensuring your child has a positive experience in school. Open and continuous communication is an extremely important practice for our teachers.
We encourage and invite you to visit anytime; come see what your child is discovering today!
