CAVE CREEK – Financially strapped working parents with preschool age children will continue to get a helping hand with preschool tuition. The Kiwanis Club of Carefree presented a $20,000 check to Gina Durbin, Director of Education & Community Services (ECS), a department of the Cave Creek Unified School District (CCUSD). The funds will provide Kiwanis Preschool Scholarships for Brilliant Futures to qualified families whose children need financial assistance to attend ECS preschool programs.
“This year, Carefree Kiwanis graciously increased the Scholarship to $20K, where in the past 2 years, we received $10K for our families in need of ECS preschool scholarships,” noted Durbin. “I will be working with Foothills Food Bank and AZ Neighbors in Need to identify students in our community that would qualify financially for this program. If we get these little ones starting their educational discovery early, they will be our Class of 2030!”
Early childhood education has positive long-term effects that benefit children, families and our community. Kiwanis Preschool Scholarships for Brilliant Futures will allow children, age three to five, to enjoy safe and developmentally stimulating learning experiences while their parents are at work,” said Durbin. Historically, a total of 125 to 130 children are enrolled annually in ECS Child’s Play Preschool. Of those, an average of 5 children a year have received assistance.
“Our curriculum focuses on the whole child with an emphasis on learning as a process of interaction with other children, adults, and materials within an environment of play. Children will be involved in a variety of project-based activities, guided investigations and materials that are concrete and relevant to the lives of young children, and emphasize the process, not the product,” according to Jenny Stahl, ECS Early Childhood Coordinator.
ECS Child’s Play Preschool offers full day and half day programs, a low 10:1 child-teacher ratio, Liberal Arts curriculum, Harmony Social/Emotional Program, World Spanish, World French, World Mandarin, Character Counts, Love and Logic, Student Portfolios, Student Assessments, Get Ready to Read, ABC Music and Me, LOCKs, Before and After Care, and more.
Locations for ECS Child’s Play Preschool are Horseshoe Trails Elementary School, ECS Preschool, Desert Willow Elementary School, and Black Mountain Elementary School.
Contact ECS Preschool Coordinator Jenny Stahl at 480-575-2062 for Scholarship information. For additional information about ECS, visit www.ecsforall.org or call 480-575-2440, Monday through Friday 7:30am to 4pm. ECS is located at 33016 N. 60th Street, Scottsdale, AZ 85266.
Cave Creek Unified School District is the #1 School District in Maricopa County for Student Achievement, a PreK-12 World Language District, and an “A” Rated District. For more information, contact one of our A+ Schools of Excellence or visit our website at www.ccusd93.org Inspire Excellence!
