For Immediate Release
June 28, 2017
Contact: Steve Edwards, Coordinator of Policy and Communications
540-662-3888 ext. 88235
The Virginia Department of Education has awarded Frederick County Public Schools
additional Virginia Preschool Initiative-Plus (VPI+) grant funds that will enable the school
division to expand the pilot preschool program it will be launching to serve at-risk four-year-olds
during the 2017-18 school year. The grant will cover all of the costs associated with the
preschool program in 2017-18 and 2018-19.
The additional grant funds will allow for 18 students residing in the Indian Hollow and
Gainesboro elementary school attendance zones to participate in the preschool program. The
students living in those attendance zones who are selected to participate in the program will
comprise a preschool class that will be housed at Gainesboro Elementary School. The
preschool program will also serve 36 students residing in the Apple Pie Ridge, Redbud Run and
Stonewall elementary school attendance zones. Those students will be equally divided into two
classrooms, one located at Apple Pie Ridge Elementary School and another at the Senseny
Road School. The areas that will be served by the pilot program were selected based upon the
number of at-risk students residing in them.
Preliminary applications for the preschool program will be accepted from the families of
eligible students residing in the Indian Hollow and Gainesboro elementary school districts
beginning on Thursday, July 6 with a special registration event taking place from 1 p.m.-6 p.m.
at Gainesboro Elementary School. After July 6, preliminary applications from students living in
the Indian Hollow and Gainesboro elementary school districts can be completed by contacting
Preschool Coordinator Angie White or Registrar Carrie Vivas at 540-662-3888 or visiting
Gainesboro Elementary School.
Eligible students residing in the Apple Pie Ridge, Redbud Run and Stonewall elementary
school attendance zones can also complete the preliminary registration process by contacting
White or Vivas or by visiting Redbud Run or Apple Pie Ridge elementary schools.
Only students residing in the designated elementary school attendances zones who will
be four years of age on or before September 30, 2017, are eligible to apply to participate in the
preschool program at Gainesboro Elementary School. Students must be fully toilet trained and
able to take care of their bathroom needs. In addition, the maximum family income for program
participants must be at or below
200 percent of the federal poverty rates. Families are to include the following as income- employment earnings; unemployment and
workers’ compensation payments; Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
benefits; public assistance payments (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or TANF);
veterans’ benefits payments; survivor benefit payments; pension and retirement income; interest
and dividends; rents and royalties; income from estates and trusts; income from educational
assistance, alimony and child support; financial assistance from outside the household.
Parents/guardians who submit a preliminary application for the preschool program
should bring a certified copy of the child’s birth record, proof of residency and original source
documents regarding all sources of income (employee pay stubs/earning notices, income tax
returns, employer W-2 forms or documentation of public assistance program payments).
After preliminary applications have been processed, the school division will contact the
families of those students who meet the eligibility requirements for the program to complete a full registration packet at the Frederick County Public Schools Administration Building beginning
on Monday July 17. Once the full registration packet is completed, the applications will be
assessed with admission to the program being offered in early August to those students who
are determined to realize the greatest educational benefit from participating in preschool.
Completing the registration packet does not guarantee acceptance into the program.
Frederick County Public Schools Preschool Coordinator Angie White says, “We are
pleased to receive the additional grant funding that will enable us to expand the pilot preschool
program to serve 18 additional students residing in the Indian Hollow and Gainesboro
elementary school attendance zones. The students selected to participate will benefit from the
program’s curriculum that covers literacy, mathematics, science, history and social science,
physical and motor development as well as personal and social development. In addition, the
program will provide focused outreach to families as well as individualized support for children
with unique learning needs, including students with disabilities and English language learners.”