Guest Post: Washington County School District Preschools

We are excited to have Brittney Nelson from the Washington County School District as today's guest blogger.

Our goal at the school district is to provide a high quality and developmentally appropriate preschool experience for children in our community. We prepare children for kindergarten by giving them the academic and school skills necessary for success.


Our program emphasizes the whole development of children. We promote physical development by encouraging healthy play, the cognitive development that prepares the preschoolers for Kindergarten, and the social-emotional development that focuses on self-regulation, social skills, problem solving, and age appropriate behavior.

Our classroom environments are rich in: 

• Literature and literacy opportunities
• Hands on math manipulatives
• Child-centered choices
• Science exploration
• Social studies lessons
• Art activities
• Music, movement and finger plays
• Engaging, interactive and adaptive technology
• Caring teachers with early childhood expertise and training

By the end of the school year, our preschoolers should be able to:

• Write their name the correct way
• Name all capital/lowercase letters
• Tell what sound all letters make
• Understand concepts of print
• Recognize and name numbers 1-10
• Recognize and name basic shapes
• Recognize and name colors
• Cut a straight line and a circle 
• Use polite language
• Work and play collaboratively with others
• Listen to and follow directions
• Stay focused for 10 minutes
• Enjoy coming to school

Registration for the 2016-2017 school year will be March 30th and April 6th at all of the Title I schools and will be ongoing after April 6th. Children must be four years old by September 1, 2016. Please bring a birth certificate and immunization records, with all immunizations up to date, to registration. Acceptance into the preschools is based on qualifying for free and reduced lunch and up-to-date immunizations. Classes will be filled on a first come, first serve basis. 

We have three sessions at each school, and each session has sixteen students. There is a morning, mid-day, and afternoon class. Students attend preschool for two hours each day, Monday-Thursday. Preschool teachers attend professional development training each Friday. 

We work with families and provide training and resources for parents to help support learning at home. Parent meetings are held five times throughout the year and include topics about reading with children, alphabet knowledge, math activities, technology, and preparing for Kindergarten. 

We are proud that our preschoolers enter Kindergarten prepared academically and socially, and they are leaders in their class because of their knowledge and familiarity of the school and appropriate classroom behaviors.

Washington County School District has preschools for four-year olds at every Title I Elementary School throughout the county, including Coral Canyon, Coral Cliffs, Dixie Sun, East, Enterprise, Heritage, Hurricane, La Verkin, Red Mountain, Sandstone, Sunset, Washington and Water Canyon. The preschools are funded through Title I, and the program is free for families that qualify for free or reduced lunch.

For information on preschool services offered through other school districts, call Help Me Grow at 801-691-5322.