Joplin Schools launch little eagles flight school for 4-year-olds

JOPLIN, Mo. (KOAM) -- Joplin Schools are set to open three new neighborhood-based preschool classrooms for 4-year-old students.

According to Joplin Schools, the new classrooms will be called Little Eagles Flight School. The classrooms will be offered to residents in the Irving, Royal Heights, and Soaring Heights.

"It's not widely known, but the entirety of Jasper County is classified as what's known as a 'childcare desert' because there are so few childcare centers that our families can afford," Joplin Schools Executive Director of Student Services Dr. Jordan Dickey said. "If you couple that challenge with our understanding that about half of our incoming kindergartners come to us
with no early learning experience, we think many of our local families with young children could really benefit from high-quality preschool options that are attached to the same elementary schools their older children attend. That's where Flight School can help."

Joplin Schools say the 2024-2025 school year will be the pilot year. The hours are set to be the same as elementary school attendance hours.

"During this pilot year, our focus is to try out the elementary based program in three different neighborhoods and create a low-barrier, high-quality preschool opportunity for our families with four year olds," said Dickey. "The bottom line is we want to get more kids in the door so they can have access to our classrooms and teachers."

For information on enrollment, click here , or contact Joplin Early Childhood Education.

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