“Every day, I see children thrive in an environment that nurtures their curiosity, creativity, and love for learning. Our school’s commitment to fostering a sense of community and providing a safe, supportive space for every child is unmatched. The collaborative spirit among teachers, supportive families, and inspiring leadership makes it more than just a workplace—it’s a family. ”
St. Paul’s Preschool
St. Paul’s preschool education follows the Creative Curriculum and the Iowa Quality Preschool Program Standards. Student goals center on emotional, language, social, cognitive, and physical development. Classes are offered in five arrangements to meet the various needs of children ages 3-5. See class times below.
St. Paul's offers fully certified early childhood education staff for every section of our preschool program. The preschool teaching staff at St. Paul's Lutheran School provides a safe and secure learning environment, as well as tools for learning with a balance of developmentally appropriate activities and materials. The educators are good role models who enjoy learning with the children and encourage freedom with responsibility, assessing and evaluating learning and curriculum. They value parents as partners in their child's education.
Unique Programming
At St. Paul's Preschool we believe early developmental education should:
Use the principles of growth and development as a foundation for teaching and learning.
Appreciate each child’s uniqueness in background, ability, and rate of development.
Enhance the child’s positive self-image through a child centered classroom.
Stimulate the balanced growth of the whole child by providing an environment which facilitates higher order thinking skills, problem solving, learning, and living.
Provide a planned, comprehensive program of experiences designed to develop the cognitive, emotional, social, physical, and creative abilities of each child.
Nurture lifelong positive attitude toward learning.
Develop a partnership between school, family, and the community to maximize the progression of each child’s development.
Our goal is to provide your child with a happy and successful preschool experience, and it is our hope that your child will develop confidence, responsibility, cooperation, and more through our program at St. Paul's. Preschool students at St. Paul's explore a variety of daily learning activities including: literacy and math, center time learning, Spanish counting and colors, daily theme lessons, music, finger plays, art activities, and religion. Explore additional programming below.
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St. Paul’s School creates a nurturing environment that provides a natural transition from preschool to kindergarten. With classrooms right across the hall from one another, the kindergarten teaching team gets to know their preschool neighbors well in advance. Preschool parents have expressed that being a part of the Kindergarten hallway allows for familiarity with the kindergarten classrooms and teachers, and has helped their child to feel at ease with their first day of Kindergarten. Preschool students form life-long friends with their preschool classmates and are mentored by their elementary-aged cross grade friends as well as other students at school and family events.
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Each of our preschool classrooms is unique in engaging families. From being guest readers, to planning class parties and attending field trips, special occasions like the reenactment of the nativity, St. Paul’s preschools foster a strong sense of community among families. Parents are encouraged to participate in school activities, fostering relationships that extend beyond the classroom. This involvement creates an environment where families feel connected not only to the school but also to each other. Events such as family nights, holiday celebrations, and volunteer opportunities allow parents to engage actively in their children’s education while reinforcing the school’s values.
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St. Paul’s Preschool offers a unique blend of educational experiences that cater to both the intellectual and spiritual needs of young children. Serving as an important foundation for lifelong learning within a framework of shared values, St. Paul’s provides a warm, loving environment rooted in faith that supports holistic development— emotionally, socially, academically, and spiritually. The preschool classrooms serve as a home away from home for children where they can learn about love, respect, community involvement, and spiritual growth while forming lifelong friendships.
The students are taught by highly qualified early childhood teachers as well as having opportunities for Spanish, library, music, and PE classes with certified teachers. The students also have opportunities for learning beyond the school walls with field trips to the Fire Station, Pumpkin Patch, The Farm, Gallagher Bluedorn plays, the Public Library, and many other real-world experiences.
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At St. Paul's Preschool we believe early developmental education should:
Include a caring community of learners within a child-centered environment
Implement assessment practices to address development, readiness, and academics including Teaching Strategies Gold and myIGDIS literacy and math assessments
Provide opportunities in learning through play
Include differentiated teaching practices to meet the needs of all learners
Develop opportunities for problem solving, critical thinking, and creativity
Provide literacy preparedness that transitions to kindergarten and beyond
Utilize research based curriculum like Creative Curriculum and focus on the Iowa Quality Preschool Program Standards.
Include student goals that are center on emotional, language, social, cognitive, and physical development.
Class Options, Tuition, and Fees
Classes are offered in five arrangements to meet the various needs of children ages 3-5.