[EdTalks] Greenville County's 4K Program: What Parents Should Know

Is your child ready for kindergarten? In this episode, we dive deep into the Greenville County Schools 4K program to uncover what kindergarten readiness truly looks like. We explore the essential social and emotional skills that set children up for long-term success and provide a clear roadmap for parents navigating early childhood education. If you have a preschooler in Greenville, SC, this is a must-watch guide to understanding the free resources available and how to prepare your child for their first day in the classroom.

Join host Derek Lewis, Executive Director of Greenville First Steps, as he speaks with April Roberts, a veteran educator and Principal of three Greenville County Schools Child Development Centers. April provides an insider's look at the district's extensive early education offerings, which serve over 1,800 four-year-olds annually. She explains the structure of the Greenville County Schools 4K program, detailing the differences between standalone Child Development Centers and integrated elementary school classrooms. A significant portion of the conversation is dedicated to redefining kindergarten readiness skills, moving the focus from pure academics to the crucial development of a child's confidence, ability to follow directions, and self-advocacy. April stresses the importance of social emotional development in preschoolers, explaining that learning to navigate a classroom, share, and communicate needs is often more critical than knowing the alphabet upon entry.

This episode is also packed with actionable advice that highlights the importance of parent involvement in early education. April shares practical tips for parents, such as reading with your child nightly, having device-free conversations at dinner, and using playtime to understand your child's world. She emphasizes that building a strong partnership with your child's teacher through open communication is key to a successful year. For families interested in enrolling, the discussion provides a clear, step-by-step guide on how to apply for 4K in Greenville County, including the application timeline (starting in December for the following school year), eligibility requirements, and where to find the application on the school district's website. Learn more about this invaluable, free program - which also includes free breakfast and lunch for students - and how it provides a powerful foundation for Greenville's youngest learners.

About Our Guest:

April Roberts is the Principal of three Greenville County Schools Child Development Centers. With extensive experience in early childhood education, she offers a clear and compassionate perspective on what truly prepares young children for their educational journey. In this conversation, she breaks down the philosophy behind the GCS 4K program, focusing on building a love for learning and developing confident, socially-adept students.

Episode Resources:

• Apply for the Greenville County Schools 4K Program

Introduction

Catherine Schumacher: Early childhood education lays a strong foundation for student success, and Greenville County has made a big investment, creating high-quality programming before children even set foot in kindergarten. Child development centers and K3 and K4 classrooms across the district welcome our littlest learners to help get them ready for kindergarten, with a particular focus on how they build relationships with their teachers and classmates and grow confidence in themselves.

I'm Catherine Schumacher with Public Education Partners. Today on Simple Civics Ed Talks, we will explore what early childhood education looks like in Greenville County Schools and how parents and caregivers can help children make the most of these critical earliest moments in the classroom. Today's conversation is hosted by Derek Lewis, Executive Director of Greenville First Steps and features April Roberts, Principal of three Greenville County Schools Child Development Centers.

Derek Lewis: Ms. Roberts, thanks for joining us today. We're thrilled to have you with us.

April Roberts: Thank you for inviting me.

An Overview of Greenville County's Early Childhood Education Programs

Derek Lewis: The school district is involved in a lot of 4K. So maybe just to help start, let's paint the picture. How many kids are enrolled in 4K in a given year in the district?

April Roberts: Typically, we have around 1,800 students enrolled in our 4K program.

Derek Lewis: And those are students who might be at an elementary school in a 4K classroom, but they also might be off-site at some of the child development centers.

April Roberts: Yes. So the district has five child development centers. Two of them are located on the property of an elementary school, so they are part of that elementary school. The three of them stand alone and they house about 150 to 200 students every year.

Derek Lewis: So those child development centers, I know in the case where my wife works at Greenview, was an elementary school that has been restored and renovated into strictly 3K, special ed and 4K services.

April Roberts: Correct. Yes.

Derek Lewis: But then also you could, in your child's elementary school, you might find one or two 4K classrooms that are just a part of the school.

April Roberts: Yes, several, quite a few of our elementary schools have one or two 4K classrooms in their building.

Derek Lewis: So we have 1,800 4-year-olds in kindergarten at 4K, but we also have 3-year-olds that are in some sort of service in the district. Can we talk about just really briefly about what 3K services are available?

April Roberts: So in addition to that 1,800 4K students, we also have a preschool special education program. So students who are identified at three or four by Child Find as maybe needing a little additional service before they enter 4K are given a spot in our preschool special education program.

Derek Lewis: What's really incredible is when you think about the number of kids we're seeing in 4K, 1,800 is a lot. A typical grade, we're seeing about 5,000 students total. So almost half the kids are in that form of 4K. When you add that to the kids who are in Head Start or the kids who are in First Steps 4K or the kids who are in child care vouchers and 4Ks in private schools, over half the kids in the county are receiving some subsidized form of a four-year-old kindergarten.

April Roberts: Yes. So what we look for when students come into 4K are students who may not quite be ready for 5K. So we want to catch those before they get to 5K and help them be prepared for 5K.

Derek Lewis: All right. So let's talk about that magic question because we talk a lot about being ready for school.

April Roberts: Yes.

Defining Kindergarten Readiness: More Than Just Academics

Derek Lewis: So as a former teacher, now as a principal of all of these little four-year-olds, what do you think it means to be ready for kindergarten?

April Roberts: So being ready for kindergarten is a lot more than the academics. It's a lot more than knowing their letters and numbers. We want them to be emotionally and socially ready as well.

So we're going to look at helping them learn that school is a safe place where they can learn to explore and learn new things, develop their skills, whether it's academic or social emotional. We also want to help build their confidence and help them learn that they can do things. They can do big things and hard things. Our goal is to develop students who love learning and will carry that love for learning through their entire education journey.

Derek Lewis: Yeah, it's really fascinating we talk about learning new things because I am married to a kindergarten teacher and I learn new things every day from her. And one of the things that's really struck me is that she's a lot less interested in whether these kids can come able to read or write their own name or can count to 50. Can they sit still and can they follow directions is what she would consider to be almost ready for 4K.

April Roberts: We want them to be able to communicate for themselves and say, this is what I need. I need to go to the restroom. I'm hungry. I need someone to just give me a hug. They need to be able to communicate. Or if someone's doing something they don't like, they need to be able to communicate, "I don't like that. Please stop."

So that's one thing that we really work hard on is making sure that they can advocate for themselves, but also being able to walk in a line, stay with their group, keep themselves safe, sit on the carpet without falling over or hurting their friends. We spend a lot of time on the academics, letters, numbers, counting shapes, colors, all those things. But we spend even more time helping them learn how to navigate school and get along with 20 other students in the room with me.

Derek Lewis: Which is such an important part of child care in general, but also 4K. It's, can you get along with others? Can you share the artboard?

April Roberts: Learning how to do that. Playing with your brother or sister at home is very different than going into a room of 18 other children that you've never met and an adult that you're not used to. So we tell parents, getting them out into public, going to a park and letting them play with other children, that's a big deal in preparing their child for school.

Having conversations with them so that they learn to converse back and forth. It's so important to sit down at dinner with no electronic devices, TVs off, and have conversation together. That really builds a skill in our little students that they will use the rest of their lives.

Derek Lewis: All right, so let's talk about getting our parents ready for kindergarten.

April Roberts: Yes.

A Parent's Role: Preparing Your Child and Partnering with Teachers

Derek Lewis: Because it's not just our little four-year-olds who need to be ready for kindergarten, but we have these adults who, this may be their first encounter with a public school since they were in school. Maybe 10 years ago, what do you think it means to you for a parent to be ready for kindergarten? What do you want parents to know or do?

April Roberts: Have your child ready to be away from you and help them know that it's okay, that I trust this adult. You can trust this adult. This is someone who's going to look out for you. But also, as I said before, have them be able to speak up for themselves. So if something happens, they can come home and tell mom or dad that a student is bothering them or they can tell the teacher that someone's bothering me and I need help with this.

Parents, be ready to talk with your child every day. Read with them every night. That's so important to read with your children, to have conversations with them, to play with them. Children will tell you a lot while they're playing. You can ask all the questions you want to ask and they may not say anything. But during play, you'll discover a lot of things that they haven't told you.

So it's very important to play with your children. Let them help you with things around the house. Give them responsibilities. Let them help make the bed. Let them help set the table for dinner. Give them those responsibilities to help the children learn to take care of things around them by themselves.

Derek Lewis: Well, I'm so glad you talked about the time that you need to devote to just talking to them about their day because I think about that essential bridge between the home and the school. And really, the child is the bridge. And so how do we get these families talking to their teacher? We learn from our kids what their day was like, and then encouraging families to email the teacher and say, "Hey, I heard things went great today." And just building those relationships just really strengthens the bonds between those parents, caregivers, teachers, and the child.

April Roberts: I really encourage parents to be open and honest with your teacher. Let them know what you need. Some parents want to drop their children off and they have their school day and they'll talk to their child and that's all they need. But some want more information. So let your teacher know, "I need a little more communication. I need to know." The teachers will be more than happy to do that because they are there to help bridge that gap between the family and the school. So let them know that you would like a lot more communication or a little more.

Derek Lewis: I'm thinking about one of the principals told me, I would love it if every parent would email their teachers and just say, "We didn't sleep well last night." Because it will make such a difference in how your day is going to go. And we keep those secret. But they could really impact your day.

April Roberts: It does. If something changes in the family, if somebody's in the hospital, let us know. And that helps us know your child might need a little extra hug or a little extra time today. And we can handle that. Keeping that communication open so that we know what those student needs are. That's why we're there to meet those needs.

Derek Lewis: All right. So 4K through the district is free of charge.

April Roberts: It is.

How to Apply for the Free 4K Program in Greenville County

Derek Lewis: You need to apply. And so what can we talk through the application process for how one gets on the list?

April Roberts: Sure. So on the school district website, under students and parents, there is a tab that says 4K. So if you go there, it will walk you through how to apply for the process. This year, our classrooms are full and we have quite an extensive waiting list.

But if a parent wanted to go ahead and apply for this year, they would be added to that waiting list. Chances of getting in this year are slim, but you could try if you wanted to. But usually around December, we start taking applications for the following year, and you'll usually know in the spring if you got a spot, and then we put children on the waiting list after that.

Derek Lewis: So you're going to register in December for your child to start 4K in the fall of the next year.

April Roberts: Correct. If your child will be 4 on or before September 1st of the following year, so for this year, if your child is 4 on or before September 1st of 2026, they could apply for next year's school.

Derek Lewis: And 4K in the district is free of charge, just like 5K in the district is free of charge, correct?

April Roberts: It is free of charge, yes.

Derek Lewis: Which is really amazing. Again, thinking about those 1,800 kids, the state requires every school district to offer one 4K classroom per district. And we are offering 1,800 slots in this district. Most of it covered by local funds that the school district is setting aside for 4K. But 1,800 families have four-year-old kindergarten at no charge.

April Roberts: Correct. Correct. And currently, it changes, we never know from year to year, but currently this year, they also receive a free breakfast and lunch.

Derek Lewis: That's just really incredible when we think about these services that are available to our most at-risk families.

April Roberts: Right.

Derek Lewis: Well, thank you so much for all the work that you're doing with 4K and in the district. And if you have any other questions, we have a link to the 4K program in our show notes.

April Roberts: Thank you, Derek.

Catherine Schumacher: Simple Civics Ed Talks is a joint project of Greater Good Greenville, Greenville First Steps, and Public Education Partners Greenville County.