Thank you for your interest in the Johnston County Public Schools Preschool.

Since North Carolina does not offer preschool for all children, children have to qualify for one of our preschool services in order to attend one of our classrooms. 

1.  Johnston County Public Schools Exceptional Preschool is for children ages 3-5 who are eligible and in need of special education services. If you have concerns about your child's development or believe that they may be in need of special education services, please contact Joanna Bryant at 919-934-1697 x 1053 and we can discuss those concerns further and determine if a developmental screening is appropriate. 

2. Fee for Service is a tuition-based program for 3 and 4 year old children, whose parents are local, state, or federal government employees. The 2022-2023 flat rate tuition for this program is $6,000.00 per school year. The Fee For Service application is closed at this time. 

3. Head Start is a federally funded preschool for families meeting certain eligibility criteria.  I know that one of their main criteria is household income, but they do consider other factors as well.  Head Start programs are not located in JCPS locations, rather they operate centers in the Benson, Clayton, Princeton, Selma, and Smithfield areas. For more information about Head Start, please call 919-934-2145 and ask to speak with a Family Service Worker who would gladly tell you more about their program and process.

4. NC Pre-K offers free preschool to children ages 4-5 (must be 4 on/before August 31st). NC Pre-K classrooms are located in many local childcare centers and in a large number of Johnston County Elementary Schools. If you are interested in NC Pre-K, please call Partnership for Children at 919-202-0002 to speak with a staff member regarding the application process. The application is online and can be found here.

5. Our elementary schools offer Title 1 preschool. Eligibility for this program is based on developmental needs, and is free to families. For more information about Title 1 preschool visit our website and the application is closed at this time.

Each Item is a link to the website that can assist you in getting more information!

• Whole Child Education: 
  When a whole child's education is being facilitated, education goes beyond simple academics and reaches the health, safety, social, emotional, support, and engagement of stakeholders.  In an early childhood classroom, it's highly beneficial to focus on academic expectations and to emphasize standards and literacy and math skills, but as educators of future citizens of the world, we also want to make sure that children's social—emotional development coexists and flourishes along with this academic rigor.

• Preschool Pyramid Model:
  The Pyramid Model is a conceptual framework of evidence-based practices for promoting young children’s healthy social and emotional development.

• Creative Curriculum:
  The Creative Curriculum® is research-based and supports the development of the whole child. High-quality, comprehensive resources empower educators to intentionally teach and care for our youngest learners during the most critical and formative years of development.

• Second Step for Social and Emotional Learning Instruction

• North Carolina Foundations of Early Learning and Development Standards:
  Foundations describe goals for all children’s development and learning, no matter what program they may be served in, what language they speak, what disabilities they may have, or what family circumstances they are growing up in. 

  • Approaches to Play and Learning

  • Emotional and Social Development

  • Health and Physical Development

  • Language Development and Communication

  • Cognitive Development

• Heggerty

• Tell Me Program

  • CORE WORD LIST

  • Tell Me Sample

  • Tell Me Scope Sequence

• Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons

Johnston County Public Schools' Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG)

100% of its schools earn a school letter grade of A, B, or C by the end of the 2023-2024 school year.

• We are working toward serving as many students as possible and as efficiently as possible.  

• Utilizing our funding sources will allow us to continue to contribute to the schools being A B or C beyond 2023-2024.  

• Preschool is a long-term plan to assist in maintaining and getting schools to be A or B. 

• Equipping stakeholders with early education, before it MUST become an intervention.

• Think of Preschool as a Proactive Investment!

• Provides an introduction to JCPS for families and community members

• Through partnering with families, we are providing a positive experience that can be carried throughout the family's time with JCPS.

• Conducts child-specific and developmentally-appropriate assessments of all areas of development, including autism, to determine children's strengths and needs. 

• By making these educational diagnoses at a young age, when appropriate, saves the school-age team time and resources.

• Provides a comprehensive and understandable explanation of the child's development to each child's stakeholder to assist in the child meeting goals and closing developmental gaps.

• Improving a child's ability to be successful within the general curriculum

Opportunities To Show our Personnel Support