THE PRESCHOOL DEPARTMENT – its team of teachers, instructional assistants and support staff – received a HIVE Award at the Woodford County Board of Education (BOE) meeting on Aug. 24 for earning a Level 5 rating at all four elementary schools. Pictured, from left, front, are WCPS Superintendent Lori Jones, Becky Short, Rosa Thompson, Emily Hancock, Courtney Chaney, Katie Harvey, Megan Moore, Stacy Fugate, Lauren Kreager and Miranda Fazio; back, BOE Chair Adam Brickler, BOE members Sarah McCoun and Sherri Springate, Preschool Director Kim Johnson, BOE member KT Gould, BOE student-representative Reese Divine and BOE Vice Chair Ambrose Wilson IV. (Photo by Bob Vlach)
By Bob Vlach
Woodford Sun Staff
The Woodford County Board of Education congratulated the district’s preschool department for achieving 5 Star ratings at all four elementary schools during its regular meeting on Aug. 24.
“It was a long, hard process. It was a lot of individuals, as well as a group effort and commitment…,” said Preschool Director Kim Johnson.
To reach a Level 5 rating – the highest possible awarded by the Kentucky All STARS Quality Rating and Improvement System – the preschool programs demonstrated exceptional standard-setting work in classroom and instructional quality, family and community engagement, staff qualifications and professional development, and administrative/leadership practices, according to information from Woodford County Public Schools (WCPS).
WCPS was previously a 5 Star program, Johnson said, but now every preschool center must go through the process to earn that highest rating. It has been a three-year process for preschool staff and administrators to complete training and then stay committed to getting a 5 Star rating, she explained.
By being mindful to provide developmentally appropriate classrooms for children ages 3 and 4, everything educators do in a preschool has a foundation of play so children with developmental delays are ready for kindergarten, Johnson said.
In addition to becoming a 5 Star preschool program again, Johnson said she wanted to open a childcare facility and offer a wraparound program – and “all of those things have come to fruition … so I’m really tickled.”
On Wednesday, Sept. 2 at 10 a.m., WCPS will host a ribbon cutting at the new Little Legacy Hive, which Johnson said was an Early Childhood Center for preschool students when she came here as a preschool teacher 18 years ago.
Offering a wraparound childcare program is exciting to her because “parents need to be able to have reliable, affordable and quality childcare in Woodford County,” Johnson said.