The Ash Grove R-IV School District is excited to expand our preschool programs for the 2021-2022 school year. All preschool programs with exception of Buccaneer Bay are free to our Ash Grove Families.

Early Childhood Preschool Program

Our preschool program will be offered to children who are 4 years old before August 1, 2021. Children will attend classes 5 days a week for ½ a day (a.m. or p.m.). This will allow us to serve more students while still maintaining small class sizes. Half day sessions will be 8:00am – 11:10am or 11:55am – 3:05pm, snacks will be provided. Preschool follows a pre-kindergarten curriculum with an emphasis on social and academic skills. Progress of preschool children is closely monitored and parent/teacher conferences will be held. Students will become familiar with school rules and routines while participating in a wide variety of learning activities. This program will be housed at Ash Grove Elementary and will follow the school calendar. Parents are responsible for transportation. 

Early Childhood Title I Preschool Program

Our Title I preschool program will be offered to children who are 4 years old before August 1, 2021. Children will attend classes 5 days a week for a full day from 8:00 am -3:05 pm. This will be open to a select group of students identified through the screening process. Students must meet certain academic and financial criteria to be admitted to this program.  Preschool follows a pre-kindergarten state approved curriculum with an emphasis on social and academic skills. Progress of preschool children is closely monitored and parent/teacher conferences will be held. Students will become familiar with school rules and routines while participating in a wide variety of learning activities. This program will be housed at Ash Grove Elementary and will follow the school calendar. Parents are responsible for transportation. 

Early Childhood Special Education

This program is designed to meet the needs of early childhood students (3-5 years, and are not kindergarten age eligible) who are demonstrating significant delays, typically in more than one developmental area. If the student needs one or more related services, these services will be provided on the Ash Grove Elementary School campus when possible. This is a ½ day program, days and times will be established based on need following scheduled screenings. The number of days children attend per week is outlined by their individual education plan (IEP). 

Buccaneer Bay

This program is designed to provide wrap around care for preschool students during hours outside of their regular school day. Participants must be enrolled in our Preschool Program in order to attend. Buccaneer Bay is open Monday – Friday in accordance with the school district calendar. Hours are 7:00 AM – 6:00 PM. Tuition is a flat fee, regardless of attendance, based upon the student’s free and reduced lunch status. Eligibility for attendance in Buccaneer Bay is based on individual student needs and is on a first come first serve basis. This program will work in conjunction with our school aged Pirate Pals Program.

• New this year will be our Buccaneer Bay Day Camp! This program is designed for our littlest pirates. Children who will turn 3 before August 1, 2021 and are fully toilet trained are eligible to attend our day camp. Day camp runs Monday through Friday from 7:00 am -6:00 pm in conjunction with our Pirate Pals Program. This is a cost based program. Tuition is a flat fee for the entire week, regardless of attendance. Space is limited. This program is a play based program to help develop student's, emotional, academic and social skills. There is a 10 students to 1 teacher ratio and at times they will be mentored by our preschool aged students. 

Parents As Teachers

This program is designed to provide support to families from pregnancy through the start of Kindergarten. PAT is FREE to all families in the Ash Grove School District. Children learn more during the first five years than at any other time in life and this program is designed to help parents understand how their child grows and learns. 

PAT Services include: 

Personal Visits – educators trained in child development offer suggestions for learning activities. The number of visits varies family to family. 

Developmental Screenings – this is a summary of your child’s development, focusing on language, cognitive, motor and social skills. Health, hearing and vision are also screened. Screenings are offered for 3 months through Kindergarten entry. Families who participate in our PAT program have priority placement in our preschool program along with early access to Preschool and Kindergarten screening sign up.

Referrals – connections with other community agencies are offered.

Various other activities and resources are available throughout the year.

For more information, Please fill out our PAT form by clicking on the button below or contact  Jacquelynn Alden  ([email protected]), or Twila Hollis ([email protected]) at 417-751-2533.

Enrollment

To be considered for enrollment, you must attend a developmental screening by appointment only. If you have questions or need to schedule an appointment, please contact our front office. at 417-751-2533 or email [email protected]

Ash Grove Elementary Kindergarten Program

Our Kindergarten program will be offered to children who are 5 years old before August 1, 2021. Children will attend classes 5 days a week for a full day. 7:50 am-3:05 pm.

Our kindergarten curriculum is extensive and aligned with the Missouri Learning Standards. Student progress is closely monitored and parent/teacher conferences will be held to review standards based assessments. This program will be housed at Ash Grove Elementary and will follow the school calendar. 

Pirate Pals

This program is designed to provide wrap around care for school aged students during hours outside of their regular school day. Participants must be enrolled as an Ash Grove Elementary student in grades Kindergarten through 3rd grade, in order to attend. Pirate Pals is open Monday – Friday in accordance with the school district calendar. Hours are 6:30 AM – 6:00 PM. Eligibility for attendance in Pirate Pals is based on individual student needs and is on a first come first serve basis. This program will work in conjunction with our preschool aged program, Buccaneer Bay. If you need Pirate Pals information, please contact the front office at 417-751-2533 or email our program director Mrs. Norsten at [email protected]

Enrollment

To be considered for enrollment, you must attend a developmental screening by appointment only. If you have questions or need to schedule an appointment, please contact our front office. at 417-751-2533 or email [email protected]