FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
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STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
John L. Winn
Commissioner of Education
F. PHILIP HANDY,
Chairman
T. WILLARD FAIR,
Vice Chairman
Members
DONNA G. CALLAWAY
JULIA L. JOHNSON
ROBERTO MARTÍNEZ
PHOEBE RAULERSON
LINDA K. TAYLOR
July 18, 2005
MEMORANDUM #05-02
TO:
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District School Superintendents
Elementary
School
Principals
FROM:
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Shan Goff, Executive Director
Office of Early Learning
SUBJECT:
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First Day of the Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) Education
Program
With the first day of the 2005-06 school year just around the corner, many school districts, as
well as private and public providers, will be offering the Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK)
Education Program for Florida’s four-year-olds. We are anticipating a smooth start and would
like to share some ideas to assist your districts on this
First D
ay of VPK
.
Collaboration with Early Learning Coalitions
Districts are encouraged to continue working with their local Early Learning Coalitions to
coordinate efforts to register and enroll children in VPK, whether for a public school program or
one offered by a private provider. To assist you, enclosed are:
a CD with the VPK Public Service Announcements in English and Spanish
Early Learning Coalitions Contact Information
a Fact Sheet on VPK from the Agency for Workforce Innovation (AWI)
Another valuable resource is the DOE/Office of Early Learning website at
http://www.myfloridaeducation.com/earlylearning/.
SHAN GOFF
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Executive Director
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Office of Early Learning
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325 W. GAINES STREET • SUITE 1532 • TALLAHASSEE, FL 32399-0400 • (850) 245-0445 • www.fldoe.org
July 18, 2005
District School Superintendents
Page Two
Information to Parents Prior to the First Day
Each school’s Open House and/or School Orientation prior to the first day of school is a great
opportunity to provide information to parents about VPK. If a district has chosen not to offer
VPK in the fall, it’s advisable to provide parents and caregivers with this information and direct
them to the local Early Learning Coalition for information on participating providers or have
copies of the list of participating providers (obtained from the coalition) available at the school.
Other effective ways to disseminate VPK information to parents and caregivers would be to
include VPK registration information on the school district’s website as well as in the
Back-to-
School
information section in your local newspaper.
Unexpected Children on the
First Day of VPK
Elementary school principals will want to work out a plan with staff and the Early Learning
Coalition for the possibility that, in the first few days of school, a four-year-old may show up for
VPK who is either not properly registered for the school’s VPK program or at a school that is not
offering the program.
While bus drivers are routinely presented with the challenge of transporting children who may or
may not be at the correct bus stop or previously registered at the designated school, districts
should inform their bus drivers that there is the possibility that a four-year-old child may
mistakenly arrive at a school bus stop with the intention of attending VPK in a school that is not
participating. In these situations where the child is unaccompanied by an adult, the bus driver
should transport the four-year-old to school and arrangements should be made to contact the
parents or caregivers immediately.
We appreciate your support, collaboration, and ongoing commitment to the inauguration of
Florida’s Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program. Please feel free to contact the Office of
Early Learning, at (850) 245-0445, SunCom 205-0445.
cc:
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District
Prekindergarten
Contacts
District
Transportation
Directors
Early Learning Coalition Executive Directors
Florida Association of District School Superintendents
Enclosures (3)
CD Rom (District Prekindergarten Contacts)
Early Learning Coalitions Contact Information (All)
AWI Fact Sheet (All)
