NC Pre-Kindergarten Program
The North Carolina Pre-kindergarten Program (NC Pre-K), (formerly known as the More at Four Program,) provides high quality educational experiences for income-eligible four-year-olds, in order to enhance their kindergarten readiness. Children served by NC Pre-K typically attend a full school day (6-1/2 hours), full school year program (10 months) and may be served in classrooms in the public schools, licensed child care centers or Head Start programs. In Watauga County, we have classrooms in the following schools:
Hardin Park Elementary
Cove Creek Elementary
Valle Crucis Elementary
Green Valley Elementary
Parkway Elementary -- Lucy Brock Collaborative Classroom
The Children's Council of Watauga County is the contract administrator for the NC Pre-K program and accepts applications to determine eligibility for the program. During the 2016-2017 school year, 84 NC Pre-K children are enrolled in 5 classrooms across the county with support from the state funded NC Pre-K program. We plan to expand services as funding and space allows.
Applications for the NC Pre-K program for the 2017-18 school year are available now at The Children’s Council. To be eligible: A child must be four-years old on or before August 31st of the program year. A child that meets the age requirement is eligible for NC Pre-K if the child is from a family whose gross income is at or below 75% of the State Median Income (SMI). Children of certain military families are also eligible without regard to income. In addition, up to 20% of age eligible children enrolled may have family incomes in excess of 75% SMI if they have documented risk factors in specific categories including developmental disability, Limited English Proficiency, educational need, or chronic health condition.
Although a child may meet one or more eligibility factors, placement is not guaranteed in an NC Pre-K classroom. Typically a waiting list exists due to insufficient funding to serve all eligible children.
For questions and more information, please contact Hunter Varipapa, the NC Pre-Kindergarten Coordinator at (828) 262-5424.
Applications for the 2017-18 school year application are available now.
Applications for the 2017-18 school year available
HERE in English & HERE in Spanish.
