AUGUSTA SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
PUBLIC PRESCHOOL PROGRAM
Background
In June of 2001, the Pre-school Task Force submitted an interim report to the Augusta Board of
Education. The rationale offered for exploring pre-school education was that by providing
students with an early education, the school district promotes the overall development of a
healthy child. Children who have the right kinds of education experiences before kindergarten
perform better in the later grades (Building Strong Foundations for Learning, US Department of
Education, 2000)
The ASD established a preschool program in the Fall of 2002. While the Maine Department of
Education encouraged the development of such programs, the decision to implement a public
preschool program was made by the Augusta School Department and approved by the Board of
Education.
Purpose and Program Standards
The ASD Preschool Program is a school based program created for the children of Augusta.
Opportunities for child to attend a preschool/daycare, with a curriculum in Augusta are limited.
Our purpose is to provide organized, continuous education experiences suited to the maturity
level and ability of the individual child in preparation for kindergarten under the guidance of a
certified preschool teacher with the public school setting.
The ASD follows the State of Maine Early Childhood Learning Guidelines which serve as a
guide for state and local early care and education practitioner’s’ efforts to improve early child
hood professional practice and programs for young children age three through their entrance
into kindergarten.
Identification of Beliefs
The ASD pre-school task force identified the important beliefs that would become the bedrock of
the group’s work. They are as follows:
 Family involvement and a focus
 Character development and atmosphere that nurtures and gives children mutual respect
as well as appropriate communication tools
 Exposure to a wide variety of ways to explore their world, a program that is multidimensional
 Developmentally appropriate for child’s level and needs
 Language rich (literacy) and importance of family literacy
 Family support and advocates
 Student ratio, 8 to 1
 4 year old programming
 Appropriate screening mechanism for 4 years olds
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Public Preschool School Readiness Goals
Preschool programs help children enter school with a greater level of developmental
competence, helping them to perform better in school during the critical early years.
Supporting children in building the foundation necessary for entering school ready to learn is a
partnership requiring commitment by families, early childhood programs, the community, and
the public school.
Community Approach
The curriculum is designed to incorporate activities and businesses students are exposed to
within the community.
Working parents may drop off their children at 8:00 AM as staff is prepared to greet parents and
students at that time. The Augusta Recreational Department offers an afterschool day care
program at Gilbert School.
Teachers and parents schedule conferences during the year to share the student’s progress at
times convenient for parents.
Child Development Services provide early intervention services (i.e., speech therapy,
occupational therapy, developmental therapy) to identified students.
Curriculum
The ASD utilizes the Tools of the Mind, the Vygotskian approach to early childhood education.
All teachers and educational technicians involved in the program received required training
along with a district coach in this approach.
Tools of the Mind is a research-based early childhood program that builds strong foundations for
school success by promoting intentional and self-regulated learning in preschool-aged children.
A Tools classroom combines activities specifically designed to promote self regulation with
activities that focus on academic skills, while also giving children the opportunity to practice selfregulation/executive function skills. It ensures children meet State and National standards by
emphasizing research-based activity content. The Tools classroom also promotes mature playmake believe in preschool which is most beneficial for young children to develop self regulation,
cognitive and social-emotional skills. A Tools teacher systematically scaffolds the development
of students’ self-regulation, from being “regulated by others” to engaging in “shared regulation”
to becoming “masters of their own behavior”. The teacher teaches early literacy and
mathematics, with an emphasis on building underlying cognitive competencies, such as
reflective thinking and metacognition.
The preschool teachers maintain a Maine Department of Education 081 Early Childhood (0-5)
Teacher endorsement and a 282 Teacher-Disabled Students endorsement. The educational
technicians maintain a Maine Department of Education Educational Technician II authorization.
Enrollment
Maine Education and School Statues 20-A, Chapter 213 STUDENT ELIGIBILITY, Section 5201.
Age 2. Minimum ages (C.) A person who will be at least 4 years old on October 15th of the
school year may enroll in a 2-year childhood education program prior to grade one if it is
offered. Class size is 16 to 2.
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Environment
The ASD believes the preschool program be housed in a public school. Currently, the district
houses six half day preschool classes at Gilbert Elementary School.
Weekly Schedule
Students attend one of the six preschool programs on Monday through Thursday from 8:00 11:00 AM or 12:00 - 2:45 PM. Fridays are utilized as teacher planning, preparation and
professional development time.
Family Outreach
The Augusta School Department utilizes the Kennebec Journal Newspaper, Family Fun Nights,
Pre-K Handbook, Home/School Folders, and Parent/Teacher Conferences to reach out to
families.
Monitoring & Evaluation
The teachers administer Tools of the Mind assessments three times per year. Social/emotional
development, literacy, math and science skills are assessed.
Nutrition
A healthy snack is provided by the School Nutrition Program at no cost to the families. The
students may eat breakfast or lunch in the classroom as part of the school nutrition program at
Gilbert Elementary School.
Parent Involvement
Parent Teacher Conferences take place two times per year, more at parent request.
Possible Sources of Funding
The preschool program is a self-funded program. The ASD is eligible for subsidy
reimbursement for each student enrolled in the preschool program.
Federal Local Entitlement funds and NCLB funds designed to serve the 3-5 age population are
accessed as well.
Screening/Referral
The Early Screening Inventory- Preschool or Kindergarten, ESI-P or ESI-K depending on the
age of the child, is administered as a screening tool in early June prior to the start of the school
year program. Child Development Services receive and manage special education referrals
and evaluations. Special education services, provided by CDS may take place on site of the
preschool program.
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Serving Special Populations
The Augusta Preschool Programs serves preschool children who are residents of Augusta
whether or not they are identified as children with special needs. Teachers with the support of
parents do make referrals to CDS and teachers support families in completing required forms.
Public Preschool Health
Health screenings are completed by the school nurse. This is to verify immunizations are up to
date and hearing and vision concerns are addressed. The staff supports student in positive
ways towards independence and utilizing the bathroom successfully.
Transition
Though 75% of our preschool students attend different elementary schools, transition to
Kindergarten in a public school is minimal since the preschool program is based in a public
school and the students are familiar with staff roles, library, cafeteria, gym, playground and
school routines.
Transfer IEP team meetings take place in the spring to develop appropriate plans for student
identified with special needs.
Transportation
The ASD believes the availability of transportation is important in order for students to access
preschool programming. The students ride the regular bus with their K-6 school peers in the
AM and PM. The mid day runs do not include other students.
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