Frequently Asked Questions

The Preschool 4 Janesville (P4J) program is a voluntary, 4 -year kindergarten (4K) comprehensive child development program available to four-year-old children and their families with the School District of Janesville. The P4J program is implemented using a community-collaborative model that builds on existing resources within our community.

The P4J curriculum provides exposure to Phonenic Awareness, Phonics, early literacy, math and develpomental handwriting. P4J also offers a daily social emotional curriculum to support this critical area of develpment for children. Children develop at their own pattern and rate of learning. Not all children will meet the Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards and aligned targets or benchmarks before entering kindergarten.

This 4-year-old kindergarten (4k) partnership was initiated through an Early Learning Matters grant, was strengthened and grew throughout the 2006-07 academic school year. The Janesville community agencies and educators are to be thanked for their participation in developing this 4K program.

Parents are their children’s first educators. It is our intent for these pre-kindergarten performance standards, benchmarks, skills and strategies to provide consistent and enriched opportunities for Janesville’s earliest learners.

There is no cost to attend P4J! Programs may charge for before or after care and specialized programming available at some sites for children (ie. religious based education, child care services).

School supplies for P4J will be different for each location and are not mandatory. Each site will have supplies for students and communicate with parents should something be needed additionally. Donations of supplies for the classrooms are always welcome.

A child must be 4 on or before September 1st to enroll in the program. Wisconsin state law does not provide for exceptions to this age/date.

No, a child must be four years of age on or before September 1st to participate in the program. Wisconsin state law does not provide any exceptions to this requirement. Additionally, early entrance is not an option because there is not a guarantee that the child will receive early entrance to Kindergarten the following year.

No, strengthening an early learning and care system through four-year-old programming will benefit services to younger children; however, there is no option that provides for two and three year old preschool programming.

Four-year-olds who reside outside the school district may follow the Open Enrollment process only if their home district offers a 4-year-old Kindergarten program.

No, transportation is not provided for P4J students.

Families are encouraged to visit sites they may be interested in having their child attend.

P4J Enrollment begins the first week of February for the upcoming school year and continues throughout the year. To enroll your child, please set up an appointment with the New Student Enrollment Office, you may call 608-743-5011 to make the appointment; enrollment is located at the Educational Services Center - 527 S. Franklin St. 53548

Bring with you:

• Parent Photo Identification (Drivers License/State I.D.)
• Birth certificate or similar document that gives evidence of birth date
• Student Immunization Records
• Proof of residency (copy of lease/purchase agreement or utility bill)

When you enroll your child, you will be asked to rank your site preference as well as am/pm choices. We try to accommodate these preferences, however placement is on a first come first serve basis.

Children are not required to be toilet trained to participate in the program. If a site is not DHFS licensed to allow for diapering then they need to specify this in their site application and make this information know to specific parents. If a site is licensed for diapering, they are not able to turn away a child on the basis of toilet training. All children in this age group have accidents. 

If a child enters the program without a diagnosed disability but is exhibiting delays in development, the partner site is expected to document the child’s progress and interventions shall be implemented. Sites can refer families to get a develpmental screening for their child. 

Children with Individualized Education Plans (IEP’s) will be placed at their P4J location by the Special Education Department. They will receive programming and educational supports that are outlined in their IEP.

No, the goal of the program is to place children in environments that best meet the needs of the child. A Support team or an IEP team, including site staff, School District of Janesville staff, parents and others will meet to “network” or discuss IEP Goals if a child is experiencing difficulties. The “network” or IEP process will help determine how to best support the needs of the child. The team determines the best placement for the child and puts support systems in place to help the child successful.

It is important that students build the habit of daily school attendance beginning in P4J. Attending school regularly helps children feel better about school - and themselves. Kids will learn early on that going to school on time, every day is important. Students can begin to fall behind even if they miss just a day or two every few weeks. Good attendance will help children do well in high school, college, at work and in life!

This is possible but not encouraged. Children who meet the age eligibility for 5yr old kindergarten are encouraged to enroll in that program; however, individual needs of children will be considered and a determination will be made on a case by case basis.

This is a decision that would need to be made on an individual, case by case basis. It would need to be done thoughtfully and carefully by a transition team that includes parents, teachers, and other educational professionals. It is a rare situation for the team to make a decision to have a child rpeat the P4J program for a second year.

The P4J curriculum is in alignment with the Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards. The Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards are used as a curriculum support tool. Each P4J locatio will provide the same curriculum that is provided by the School District.

Benefits include: expanded family involvement & training opportunities, resources for all programs to maintain and build on quality early learning programming, curriculum that addresses the Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards for preschool children, fewer transitions for kids, less disparity in readiness skills and the guarantee of a DPI licensed teacher.

No, not during the Preschool 4 Janesville program time-frame. P4J will comply with state and federal regulations that specify the separation of church and state. If centers elect to offer religious instruction before or after the P4J program, they may do so, but staff and parents must understand that this is not affiliated in any way with the Preschool 4 Janesville program and it is completely optional.

No, the Preschool 4 Janesville program day must comply with separation of church and state.

Yes, parents may be asked to provide a healthy snack. This is currently being done in many classrooms. If parents do provide a snack, they will need to follow prescribed guidelines. Parents of children with food allergies will need to provide individual daily snacks for their child.

Yes, every site is asked to observe children and document student progress on common early learning outcomes. P4J provided rubric assessment should be used, and may be used in conjunction with documentation kept by the P4J provider. Every P4J student will be screened at least twice a year using the Michael Heggerty 4K assessment and the P4J Rubrics which cover the 5 domains of the Wisconsin model Early Learning standards.

These Domains are:

• Domain I-Health & Physical Develpments;
• Domain II- Social & Emotional Develpment;
• Domain III- Language & Literacy Develpment;
• Domain IV- Approaches to Learning 
• Domain V-Congnitions & General Knowledge (math, concepts).

Each partner site is responsible for creating and maintaining a student file that includes perminent student information documentation of parent conferences, an end of the year cumulative report, and documentation of student assessment. Materials and forms for this file are provided by the School District of Janesville. Sites report student attendance to the School District of Janesville on a daily basis in Infinite Campus online.

State equalization aid is the primary source of funding. The funding is administered by the School District of Janesville.

Yes, as long as child outcomes for the P4J program are being addressed. However, Children who are not yet 4 by September 1st are not eligible for reimbursement to the P4J site by the district.