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UCP Preschool Gears Up for 2008-9 Program Expansion

In August of 2008, in existing facilities, UCP Preschool will expand, making it possible for an additional 24-48 preschoolers in Northwest Missouri to attend.

UCP Preschool will still serve children with developmental disabilities who are placed here and funded by local school districts. In addition, the preschool is opening its doors to tuition-paying students and students without disabilities.

Research shows that children with disabilities meet developmental milestones sooner when learning and playing with typically developing children. At the same time, research shows that children without disabilities learn well and often refine their social skills while in early learning settings with children who have disabilities.

Specifically, UCP Preschool program expansion will benefit the following segments of children:

1. 2-year-olds with developmental disabilities who need an early-learning group setting to develop skills that are not evolving naturally. This early age is a window of opportunity for intervention. Area preschools begin at age 3,which means our 2-year-old classroom is unique in the community.
2. Children ages 3 to 4 with developmental delays who do not meet the strict state and district eligibility requirements, children currently falling through the cracks of the existing system. At UCP Preschool, children at ALL levels of development will receive specialized instruction they need to bring them to an age-appropriate level.
3. Kindergarten-aged children who are unprepared for kindergarten and who need more than just an extra year of preschool with children younger than they are. At UCP, 5-year-olds will learn in a Kindergarten Preparation class just for children their age. Recent local school district reports indicate that more than half the kindergartners in our city are unprepared to begin kindergarten successfully.
4. Typically developing preschool-age children:
   • whose parents are looking for a 2-year-old, early learning setting
   • whose parents want them to attend preschool in small classrooms with expert teachers who use quality curriculum and who will be attentive to the individual needs of their child
   • whose parents would like their child to interact with people of different abilities to enhance their child’s social development from an early age
   • who have missed the kindergarten cut-off date and who would best be served in a class with 5-year-olds
   The tuition-approach and the additional classroom will allow UCP to open our doors to children of all abilities and to meet particular preschool needs in the St. Joseph area while still fulfilling UCP’s overall mission.

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