Great Start Readiness Program

GSRP INTEREST FORM

The Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) is Michigan’s state-funded preschool program for four-year-old children with factors which may place them at-risk of educational failure. The program is administered by the Michigan Department of Education, Office of Great Start. Research on preschool programs and specific research on GSRP indicates that children provided with a high-quality preschool experience show significant positive developmental differences when compared to children from the same backgrounds who did not attend a high-quality preschool program.

GSRP is designed to promote the development of the total individual by helping each child to develop skills in the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive areas. This is accomplished by providing a balanced program that includes both teacher-directed and child-initiated activities, quiet as well as active experiences, and the recognition that learning occurs in both formal and informal settings, especially through play.

GSRP recognizes that each child has the right to enter school ready to learn. Families come with many needs, and social and cultural factors may impact a child's readiness to learn. It is the philosophy of GSRP to provide an early learning environment that:

• Acknowledges that each child is a whole person whose growth and development occurs in specific, predictable, sequential and continuous stages that can be positively impacted through quality experiences.
• Encourages and challenges each child to safely explore, create, speculate, experiment, and evaluate.
• Openly welcomes and enlists parents as vital partners in their children's educational endeavors, to focus learning in the context of the family.

The GSRP program follows the Standards of Quality and Curriculum Guidelines set by the Michigan State Board of Education and licensing requirements of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Program is funded by the Michigan Department of Education.

PRESCHOOL PROGRAM

The program is free to children who qualify. The program is funded by a grant from the Michigan State Department of Education.

GSRP is a full day program operating Monday - Friday and runs all year long. Class sizes are limited to 16 students per session with one teacher and one instructional assistant.

Age appropriate pre-kindergarten readiness activities are designed to meet the developmental needs of the whole child. The curriculum is based on the Creative Curriculum and includes learning the alphabet and pre-reading skills.