IXL is proud to offer Free Pre-K to eligible families in our community!

In 2024, Michigan launched the Pre-K for All initiative, focused on expanding access to free or low-cost, high quality, Pre-K opportunities for all Michigan 4-year-olds. Universal Pre-K through the Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) is the opportunity for every family to send their child to a publicly funded Pre-K program at no cost, just as they can do for Kindergarten. 

IXL PARTNERSHIP WITH LOCAL ISDS

Intermediate School Districts in the state have been given the responsibility to oversee operations of GSRP programs, partnering with private providers, such as IXL. 

In effort to provide current IXL families this opportunity, IXL has partnered with our local ISD’s GSRP programs. This allows families an opportunity to continue attending IXL’s Pre-K program, while accessing a free/reduced tuition rate. We're excited about this opportunity and hope that the partnership can help both current IXL families, as well as families in our community.

CURRENTLY ISD PARTNERS INCLUDE LIVINGSTON AND OAKLAND COUNTIES, WITH GSRP LOCATIONS AVAILABLE AT:

IXL BERKLEY

IXL BIRMINGHAM

IXL HAMBURG

IXL HOWELL

IXL NEW HUDSON

IXL TROY

IXL SOUTH LYON

GSRP PROGRAM OFFERINGS

IXL offers GSRP programming for 4 full days per week, 120 days per school year. The current schedule for the 2024-2025 school year is:

• Monday through Thursday from 9am to 4pm
• Program start date: September 30th, 2024
• Program end date: May 22nd, 2025
• Program breaks where GSRP is closed include:
  • Thanksgiving week (November 25th-29th)
  • Winter break (December 23rd-January 3rd)
  • Spring break (March 24th-28th)

IXL offers additional childcare hours for those that may need extended days for their children at an additional cost:

• Before care programming is offered Monday through Thursday from 7am-9am.
• After care programming is offered Monday through Thursday from 4pm-6pm.
• Friday care is available from 7am-6pm.
• Holiday breaks or other non-GSRP dates are available, with a two week notice.

THE CREATIVE CURRICULUM

As a GSRP partner, IXL is required to supplement our existing Smart Start materials with an approved curriculum from the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP.) IXL has chosen the Creative Curriculum for this endeavor. For over 40 years, The Creative Curriculum® for Preschool has proven to be innovative and supportive for both students and teachers  and, as a result, is one of the most widely used preschool curricula in the nation.  This program is a comprehensive, research-based educational framework designed to foster children's development and learning in early childhood settings. 

Some of the key components of this curriculum include:

LEARNING DOMAINS

The Creative Curriculum focuses on multiple areas of development, including social-emotional, physical, language, cognitive, and literacy skills, ensuring a holistic approach to education.

ASSESSMENTS

Ongoing assessment is incorporated to monitor children's progress and inform instructional strategies, ensuring that each child's needs are met

THEMATIC UNITS

The curriculum is organized into thematic units that integrate various subjects, making learning more engaging and relevant for preschool aged children.

FAMILY ENGAGEMENT

The curriculum promotes collaboration with families, encouraging their involvement in the learning process and reinforcing skills at home.​

GUIDED EXPLORATION

Teachers are encouraged to facilitate hands-on, experiential learning through exploration and play, allowing children to discover and learn at their own pace.

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

 Creative Curriculum  recognizes the importance of cultural diversity and includes strategies to support all learners, respecting different backgrounds and experiences.

 The overarching goal of The Creative Curriculum for Preschool is to create a nurturing environment that supports children's social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development, preparing them for future academic success while fostering a love for learning.

TS GOLD ASSESSMENTS

The TS GOLD (Teaching Strategies GOLD) assessment system is designed to support early childhood education programs by providing a comprehensive approach to assessing young children's cognitive, linguistic, social-emotional, and physical development. 
TS GOLD is an ongoing assessment system for children from birth through 3rd grade, with age specific indicators for typically developing children. This assessment tool centers on: 

1| Observation-Based Notes: Utilizing direct observation as a central method for assessment, allowing educators to gather information about children's progress in a natural setting. Teachers easily capture, organize, and store notes, photos, videos, and digital samples of children’s work in the moment to make observations authentic and objective.

2| Ongoing Assessment Periods: Unlike formal or standardized assessments, which offer a narrow picture of a child’s ability at a given moment, ongoing assessments offer a broad, more meaningful picture of development.

3| Objectives for Development and Learning: The objectives cover 10 areas of development and learning, including broad developmental areas, content areas, and English language acquisition. The objectives are aligned with the Common Core State Standards, state early learning guidelines, and the Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework.

---

The primary goals of the TS GOLD assessment program include:

• Individualized Learning: To provide insights that can help differentiate instruction to meet individual children's needs.
• Family Engagement: To involve families in the assessment process by providing them with tools and resources to understand their child's development.
• Professional Development: To support educators in understanding child development and effective teaching practices through ongoing training and resources.

Three times a year, IXL teachers will meet with GSRP family members to go over the child’s progress and results of the assessments during family conferences or home visits. TS GOLD generates reports based on teacher observations that communicate children’s progress, including The Report Card, which gives families up-to-date information about their child’s knowledge, skills, and abilities, displaying not only the child’s current abilities, but also what they can expect next. 

​

FAMILY CONNECTIONS

In the context of Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP), the connection between childcare and the home environment is crucial for fostering early childhood development. This program particularly emphasizes the role of families in supporting and enhancing the education and care provided in the program. IXL helps to foster this connection by:

• Utilizing the Tadpoles app: Tadpoles is a free family engagement app that offers both real time updates (if enabled by parent) as well as daily email summaries of each child’s activities/lesson plans, meals, rest times, and other vital information, as input by the classroom teacher. Parents of children in the GSRP classrooms also have access to a library of curriculum materials such as read aloud books and at-home activity suggestions to get your child talking about their day!

• Home Visits & Parent Conferences: IXL teachers take the opportunity outside of instructional times to communicate and interact with the parents and children enrolled in the GSRP classroom. Beginning of the year home visits help foster a partnership between school and home, also allowing children to excitedly show off their environment outside of school. Conferences allow teachers to discuss assessment data with parents and offer time to create a plan and goals for the child’s education while at IXL.

• Promoting Child Health and Wellbeing: As part of the program, vision and hearing screenings are provided for children at no cost. These are requirements for children entering Kindergarten in the public school system, and help identify potential barriers children may face in their learning environment. Additional health resources and supports for special needs or behavioral issues are also available through the partnership with our local ISDs.

READY TO LEARN MORE?

Fill out the form below to get in contact with one of our IXL locations that offers our GSRP programming and learn more about the enrollment process!

GSRP PARTNER STATEMENT
These materials are funded through a grant provided by the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential.