School is in session, and the starting age is no longer 5 years old. Thanks to Governor Jeb Bush signing a law last year, there is now a program available for 4-year-olds meeting the criteria.

If you are not already familiar with the Voluntary Pre-kindergarten Program (VPK), the program was signed into effect on January 2, 2005. The program is designed to prepare 4-year-old children for kindergarten and build the foundations for their educational success.

The criteria are simple. A child that is a Florida resident and turns 4 years old on or before September 1 of that current school year is eligible for VPK. That’s it!

It gets better. This program is FREE! You are reading correctly. It is funded by the state.
Your child can receive a high quality program at no cost.

VPK is offered during the school year and during the summer. The school year program has a total of 540 instructional hours during the regular County School Calendar Year, while the summer program consists of 300 instructional hours. This gives parents a choice, depending on what works best for their child and for their schedule.

VPK opens up a wonderful opportunity for all 4-year-olds to better prepare for kindergarten in a structured setting with quality, trained providers. All VPK providers are required to meet high standards that are required by Florida law to be able to offer this program. Each instructor who will teach VPK must have a minimum of a Child Development Associate (CDA) for the school year program or a Bachelor’s Degree for the summer program. That means your child is guaranteed a quality education during the pre-kindergarten program.

Although the program is optional for providers, many child care centers, home-based providers, faith-based programs and public school locations are offering this program to children. There are many options available within Northeast Florida. You may find out more by calling the Early Learning Coalition in your county listed below, or go to their website to learn how to enroll your child. See our listings in this guide beginning on page 38 to see the school locations offering this program.

The benefits of VPK are vast and wonderful. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to give your child an early start to learning.

To find out about signing up your child for VPK, please call the agency in your area, listed below:

Duval County:
Early Learning Coalition of Duval County
208-2044

Baker, Bradford, Nassau & Clay Counties: Early Learning Coalition of CNBB
726-1500 Ext. 241

St. Johns County:
Early Learning Coalition of Putnam/St. Johns Counties
824-9088 or (800) 238-3463 x 263

VPK through a parent’s eyes:
The Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) program was extremely successful for my son last year! I saw him progress from a shy little boy, to an extremely confident child! My husband and I read books to him daily, and he would sit quietly and listen. When it came time for us to teach him how to read, he would focus on everything else! While attending the VPK program at La Petite Academy, he learned how to recognize words. Every time he noticed a "sight" word, he would point it out. He read his first book.....in its entirety, in front of his kindergarten class this week! Not only did he read the book, but he read it with fluency! He was so excited. I give all credit to VPK. I don't plan to have any more kids, but I've instructed my family members with toddlers to definitely enroll their kids in the FREE program! My son absolutely enjoys kindergarten, and I believe it's because he was well prepared!! Thank you, VPK!
– Angela Myhand