VICENZA, Italy -- Children in the Vicenza Military Community may be eligible for free full-day preschool.
The Sure Start Preschool Program, offered by Vicenza Elementary School on Villaggio, is modeled after Head Start in the United States, and is a full-day, high-quality preschool is for four-year-olds.
Sure Start targets children who may potentially be "at risk" for not being ready for kindergarten the following year. The program contains a mandatory parent education component that includes scheduled home visits, quarterly parent meetings and participation in the classroom. It is designed for children of sponsors ranked E4 and below, but anyone is welcome to fill out an application.
There are two classes of 18 children each. Applications are accepted all year long. If the classes are full, applicants are put into a "waiting pool" and when there is an opening, the child most qualified is selected by the steering committee. Considerations for enrollment may include one or more of the following conditions:
o Child must be four years old by Sept. 1
o Sponsor rank is E4 or below
o Child had a low birth weight, below 5.5 pounds
o Child has parent/s whose primary language is not English
o Parent/s were teenagers when the first child was born
o Parent/s did not graduate from high school
o Child lives in a single parent home
o The child's sponsor is currently deployed or will be soon deployed
o The child has an older sibling with a disability
o At home there are three or more children close in age
Anyone interested in the program should stop by the Vicenza Elementary School office for an application, or call 0444-61-8640 for more information.
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