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Children must be 4 but not 5 on or before
December 1.
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First year programs must operate for a
minimum of 20 weeks, 10 hours per week (2 1/2 hours/day for 4 days,
or 5 hours/day for 2 days if Alternative Scheduled). In subsequent
years, the program must operate for a minimum of 30 weeks. There is
also an option for a home-based program.
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Maximum class size is 18, with a 1:8
adult/child ratio.
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Teachers must have a valid certificate with
an Early Childhood Endorsement (ZA).
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Paraprofessionals or Associate Teachers must
have an Associate degree in early childhood/preschool education,
child development, child care, or Child Development Associate (CDA)
credential or equivalent continuing education experience as approved
by the State Board of Education.
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Classrooms must be approved by the Michigan
Department of Consumer and Industry Services, Division of Child Day
Care Licensing.
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Districts may subcontract their programs to
Head Start or another licensed child care facility. The
subcontractor must fulfill all the requirements of the program, but
the certified teacher may have a Child Development Associate (CDA)
credential instead of a ZA.
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Community collaboration is required.
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A district eligible to serve less than 18
children must form a consortium for fiscal purposes with other
districts or an Intermediate School District. The districts can
still run independent programs, or may join in their program
operation as well.
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Involvement by families of the children is
required through home visits, parent/teacher conferences, family
activities, and parent education programs.
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Children and families become eligible for
the program if they exhibit two of the 24
"at-risk" factors listed in the
application.
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More than 50% of the children enrolled must
meet an income criterion. The rest of the children can exhibit any
two risk factors, and do not need to meet an income criterion.
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Children may not be dually enrolled in
another publicly-funded preschool program (Head Start, Preprimary
Impaired, Title I Preschool, or another Michigan School Readiness
Program).
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Children may be enrolled in a child care or
private preschool program funded by the Family Independence Agency
or parent tuition for the time they are not enrolled in the School
Readiness Program.
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The current allocation is $3,300 per
eligible child.
- Final allocation is determined by the
numbers generated on the pre-application and the formula
calculation. If need or capacity is less than the formula
allocation, the allocation will be reduced accordingly.
