Grants Pass School District 7 to offer FREE Preschool

Starting in the 2024-25 school year, the Grants Pass School District will offer FREE preschool for four and five-year-olds living within GPSD7 boundaries. The new preschool program will accommodate 36 children in its first year, and bring together children with and without disabilities into one inclusive classroom.

This initiative is made possible through a partnership with SOESD Early Childhood Services.

“This expansion is a significant step forward for our community,” says Annie Blanchard, Early Childhood Coordinator for the Grants Pass School District. “Free preschool options are extremely limited, and private preschool can be cost-prohibitive for many families. By offering free inclusive preschool, we are ensuring more children have access to high-quality early education, which is crucial for their development and future success.”

Selection for the preschool program will be through a lottery system, with priority given to families demonstrating need. The preschool will be housed at the Grants Pass School District’s Early Learning Center at Highland Elementary School, with sessions running Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. The morning session will be from 8:45 AM to 10:45 AM, and the afternoon session will be from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM.

Early learning programs do not receive state funding like K-12 education does; instead, they rely on grants, donations, or tuition. We are able to offer this free preschool program to families thanks to community partnerships, grants, and generous donor support including a $250,000 anonymous donation earmarked for expanding preschool.

“We are looking forward to this partnership with Grants Pass School District,” said Shannon Bilbao, Program Coordinator with SOESD Early Childhood Services. “Creating an inclusive classroom is a wonderful way for our students to learn and grow alongside their age-appropriate peers. By working together, we can ensure that more families benefit from high-quality preschool programs.”

Children in the preschool program will build their language, literacy, fine motor, math and reasoning skills through songs, movement, science experiments, play and creative hands-on experiences. Transportation is not currently available.

Additionally, our free parent-child playgroups for 4 and 5-year-olds, which began in the 2023-24 school year, will continue in 2024-25. Please note that enrollment in the preschool program prevents participation in the playgroups, and vice versa.

For more information on either of these programs, to donate, or to see a list of our 2024-25 supporters, please visit our website.

Applications for preschool are available now with approval or denial notifications sent on or before August 26, 2024. Apply online by visiting our early learning webpage.