FORTVILLE — The Mt. Vernon school district’s preschool has achieved a new level on the state’s child care quality rating and improvement system.
Mini-Marauder Preschool is now a Level 3 facility with Paths to QUALITY.
The program has four levels. The first indicates that the facility meets the health and safety needs of children. Level 2 indicates that it provides an environment that supports children’s development and learning. The third level indicates the school uses a planned curriculum to guide child development and prepare children for kindergarten.
“Level 3 programs have made a significant investment in the professional development of their staff, and they incorporate family and staff input into their program,” according to Paths to QUALITY’s website.
A news release from Mt. Vernon highlights the preschool’s consistent daily schedule, planned activities for children and relevant program information for families.
“This has been a three-year effort from the MMP staff and they have worked hard to make sure we’re providing high-quality early childhood education to our youngest learners at Mt. Vernon,” said Laura Durig, director of special education and Mini-Marauder Preschool, in a news release. “The staff’s efforts and dedication to our young Marauders and their families have made this achievement possible.”
Mini-Marauders Preschool was established in 2016 and has 110 students ages 3 to 5 across seven classes.
“Our teachers intentionally plan to meet the individualized educational needs of all of our learners as the Mini-Marauder Preschool is an inclusive preschool for our youngest learners in the Mt. Vernon Community School Corp. by providing multiple ways to engage children, present information to all learners, considering each student’s strengths and abilities, and demonstrate what each has learned in multiple ways,” Durig told the Daily Reporter in an email.
Elizabeth Goff, coordinator of Mini-Marauders Preschool, said in the news release that she’s very proud of her colleagues and that the recent level-up was achieved as a team.
“Over the past year, we have really focused on quality, intentions, and passion for nurturing — the philosophy of our program,” Goff said. “We are able to show our Mt. Vernon community that Mini-Marauder Preschool is a place that fosters exploratory learning and play while encouraging children to grow and learn on their own level at their own pace.”
The improvement is especially significant given the times the school finds itself in, Goff continued.
“For me to come in when we were at Level 1, have a pandemic happen, and then for us to accomplish this in such a short amount of time while meeting these health and safety requirements for COVID, that’s really big,” she said.
Paths to QUALITY’s fourth and final level reflects the highest of indicator of quality and comes with a national accreditation. Mini-Marauders Preschool has a three-year goal to reach that level.
Mt. Vernon’s preschool is the second preschool in Hancock County to reach Level 3 with Paths to QUALITY, joining Greenfield-Central’s Cougar Cubs Preschool.
