St. Paul's Christian School
Thursday, February 23, 2012

Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK)

  • VPK is a free state-supported educational program offered to all 4-year olds in Florida.

  • St. Paul's Christian School became a VPK provider beginning in the 2006-2007 school year.

  • All students who will be 4 years old on or before September 1 are eligible to enroll at our school for a free, quality preschool educational program.

  • Parents must first obtain a certificate of eligibility through Childhood Development Services before enrolling at our school.  This can be done by calling CDS at 352-629-0055 to make an appointment to meet with a representative.  Proof of residency and your child's birth certificate are required at this meeting.

  • St. Paul's VPK program is completely free.  Tuition is paid by the State and there are no registration or other fees.

  • Children participating in the VPK program are required to maintain at least 85% attendance (i.e. student must attend 17 days in a 20-day month).  In situations where the child exceeds the permissible number of absences, the parent(s) must provide an explanation in writing.

  • The Teacher/Student ratios in St. Paul's 4-year old classes will remain at 2:12 in the VPK program, with no class exceeding 12 students.

  • St. Paul's curriculum is a play-based curriculum (Beyond Centers and Circle Time) that is utilized in all of our preschool classes.  All of the learning domains and readiness skills for Kindergarten are covered in our 4-year old program.

Non-VPK

  • Parents not wishing to utilize the VPK program may register their child for one of our classes at the current tuition rate.

  • Registration is completed at our school and is subject to a registration fee.

  • VPK attendance policies do not apply.

  • Teacher/Student ratio is 2:12, with a maximum class size of 12 students.

  • The same curriculum is utilized as in our VPK classes.

Advanced K-4

  • Students who have been screened and who meet the readiness criteria for the Advanced K-4 class may also be eligible to participate in the VPK program.

  • If the student turns 5 after September 1, he/she is eligible to enroll in Advanced K-4 class through the VPK program and would pay tuition only for the class time beyond the 3.25 hours required by the VPK program.  The VPK/Advanced K-4 tuition rate is currently $85 per month.  Parents wishing to enroll in the VPK/Advanced K-4 program must obtain a certificate of eligibility from CDS.  The procedure is outlined above.

  • If the student turns 5 on or before September 1, he/she is NOT eligible for VPK and would be subject to the full tuition rate for our Advanced K-4 program.  Registration would be completed at our school and would be subject to a registration fee.

  • VPK/Advanced K-4 students are subject to the VPK attendance requirement described above.  There is no attendance requirement for non-VPK Advanced K-4 students.

  • The Teacher/Student ratio for Advanced K-4 is 2:10, with a maximum class size of 10 students.

  • Information on our Advanced K-4 curriculum is available on the Advanced K-4 page of our web site.