Grand Rapids Public Schools

Free and sliding scale preschool tuition options are provided to eligible families through the Great Start Readiness Program grant at 26 sites throughout Grand Rapids.
Through a partnership with families, our collaborative mission is to provide students with a world-class pre-kindergarten education using a proven approach and best practices. We teach every student using play based environments that support critical thinking skills, develop positive self-esteem, facilitate independence, and build an excitement for life-long learning.

Our preschool classrooms are not only safe and nurturing environments, but also places where students build strong foundations in the content areas of:
Language Arts and Literacy
Mathematics and Numeracy
Science and Technology
Social Studies
The Arts

We teach these areas using a research-based curriculum, known as Creative Curriculum, which is aligned to the Michigan Department of Education s Early Childhood Standards of Quality. This supports our teachers, who keep the content challenging while engaging children based on their unique interests. The Great Start Readiness Program is the state grant which provides funding for these tuition-free preschool rooms, which help prepare children for kindergarten.

Our preschool environments offer quiet and active work and play, as well as individualized and group focused teaching activities. Children have opportunities to build social skills daily by making decisions, solving problems, sharing, taking turns, following directions, listening, creating, discovering friendships, and above all building a love for learning!

For those who may need extra supports in reaching developmental benchmarks, our preschool environments also provide access and opportunities to receive intervention, as well as specialized instruction and services. In using an individualized, data-based approach to student learning, we are able to adapt and customize the setting to optimize student growth for all learners.