Early Childhood Programs

The Office of Teaching and Learning, Pre-Kindergarten Program is responsible for providing support and education for staff and families to ensure high-quality education for children the year before Kindergarten to prepare them for school success. Our mission is to ensure lasting achievement for all early learners.

About the Pre-Kindergarten Program

The Pre-Kindergarten Program (Pre-K) aims to:

improve the school readiness of St. Paul children;
offer a rigorous academic approach; and
help prevent St. Paul’s achievement gap.

Pre-K is aligned with the district's K-12 standards-based instructional model. The Pre-K Program ensures standards-based curriculum and assessments guide the program to continuously improve performance and quality.

Pre-K provides a rigorous academic education for children. Classes focus on teaching four year old children to:

see themselves as capable learners;
develop reading, writing and math skills; and
work well with other children and adults.

Up to 20 children are enrolled in each class with a licensed teacher and an assistant. Children are enrolled for full day, full school year programming.

2024-2025 Pre-K Brochure

What we do

Provide professional development for Pre-Kindergarten Teachers and Paraprofessionals
Hire, train and supervise Early Education and Partnership Specialists who support Pre-Kindergarten classrooms, their families, home-school-community connections
Work with school staff to support students and families in the transition to Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten
Provide families with information to extend the learning from classroom to home
Support Pre-Kindergarten Teachers with curricular resources
Support Pre-Kindergarten Teachers with assessment collection and the use of data to inform instruction

Funding Sources

Saint Paul Public Schools Pre-Kindergarten Program funding sources include:

School Readiness State Aid
Saint Paul Public Schools 2006 Referendum
Voluntary Pre-K
Pathway Scholarship

School Readiness State Aid

State aid was first made available to Minnesota school districts in 1991 to prepare children for kindergarten. According to Minnesota Statute, districts are required to submit biennial plans and annual reports to the Minnesota Department of Education describing how the following program requirements are met.

Assess children’s cognitive skills at the beginning and end of the program to inform program planning and parents, and promote kindergarten readiness.
Provide comprehensive program content and intentional instruction aligned with the state early childhood learning standards, focusing on children's cognitive, social, emotional, and physical skills and development, early literacy skills, and transition to kindergarten.
Coordinate appropriate kindergarten transition with parents and kindergarten teachers.
Involve parents in program planning and decision-making.
Coordinate with relevant community-based services.
Cooperate with adult basic education programs and other adult literacy programs.
Maintain staff-child ratios of one-to-ten and maximum group size of 20 children with the first staff a teacher.
Ensure teachers are knowledgeable in early childhood curriculum content, assessment, and instruction.

The Saint Paul Public Schools Pre-Kindergarten Program uses state aid to fund:

Content coaching for professional development
Assessment coaching
Curriculum resource library materials and coordination
Coordination with community-based services
Bilingual family support and outreach
Family engagement
Early Childhood Screening coordination
Enrollment support
Behavioral support

Saint Paul Public Schools 2006 Referendum

Saint Paul residents supported a referendum for early childhood education through June 2013. These funds finance the pre-kindergarten teachers and one assistant in Pre-Kindergarten classrooms. Referendum funds also subsidize transportation, classroom supplies and parent education.

Early Admission to Kindergarten Process

Students whose fifth birthday falls between September 2 and December 31, may apply for early admission to kindergarten assessment through the Student Placement Center. Students recommended for early admission to kindergarten will be enrolled based on available space, and only after all kindergarten-eligible students are placed. Families are also encouraged to apply for full-day Pre-Kindergarten in addition to applying for Early Admission to Kindergarten. For more information, please call the Student Placement Center at 651-632-3760.

Apply to Saint Paul Public Schools

To apply for Pre-Kindergarten or Early Admission to Kindergarten or First Grade, please contact our Student Placement Center at 651-632-3760.