Welcome to Houston Preschool!

  • ​Houston Preschool is located at the Early Childhood Center at 402 South Grant Street.

  • 3K: children who are attending Kindergarten in 2 years (age 3 by September 1)

  • 4K: children who are attending Kindergarten in 1 year (age 4 by September 1)

  • Children must be age 3 by September 1 to be eligible for Houston Preschool Enrollment for the current year.

Children holding apples

Philosophy and Goals of Houston Preschool

  1. Foster creativity and socialization skills.

  2. Develop a positive self-image.

  3. Develop foundations for later reading and writing.

  4. Stimulate mental growth.

  5. Develop the whole child; taking them from where they are to as far as their ability and interests will carry them.

Large group photo

Curriculum Areas
High Scope Preschool Curriculum

  • Approaches to Learning

  • Social and Emotional Development

  • Physical Development and Health

  • Language, Literacy and Communication

  • Mathematics

  • Creative Arts

  • Science and Technology

  • Social Studies

What the Children do at Preschool:

  • Arrival/Table Time

  • Group Time

  • Gross Motor Play

  • Story Time/Lesson

  • Music

  • Snack

  • Choice Time/Art/Small Group

  • Outside Time

February 2015: Houston Public School Pre-Kindergarten Earns 4 Stars

4 star rating header

What is the Parent Aware Program? (source: Parent Aware Mission)
Parent Aware is a Minnesota agency that helps families search to find the quality care and education their children need to succeed in school and life. It is affiliated with the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) and the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS). Parent Aware works side-by-side with families, offering free tools and resources to help them make informed choices about high-quality care and education opportunities.

Programs who volunteer to be rated, such as Houston’s Pre-Kindergarten Program, are going above and beyond health and safety requirements and have:

  • Volunteered for extra, in-depth training

  • Devoted themselves to strong, caring relationships with each child

  • Adopted the latest approaches to keeping children’s learning on track

  • Committed to daily activities and routines that help children learn

Jamie Woodard

Mrs. Jamie Woodard
Pre-K Teacher

Amy Todd

Mrs. Amy Todd
ECSE Teacher

What is a Four-Star Rating? (source)
The Parent Aware One- to Four-Star Ratings allows families to easily identify childcare and early education programs using research-based best practices to prepare children for kindergarten.

Those programs who earn the 4 Star Rating excel in the use of most of the practices that best prepare children for kindergarten. They do all of the things One, Two and Three-Star programs do, and also:

Parent Aware

  • Are committed to school readiness by using best practices in child assessment, and always working toward making instruction more individualized, stimulating and language-rich in order to promote critical thinking.

  • Have education credentials, are committed to ongoing professional development and have volunteered for training in most of the following: key areas of children’s development; cultural and socio-economic differences between families; practices that support inclusion; offering healthy meals; and engaging children in physical activity and active play.

  • Develop strong relationships with families by doing most of the following: sharing assessment results, helping them access family support services, and providing information in parents’ primarily languages.

As a Parent Aware Star Rated program, Houston Pre-Kindergarten program is being featured on the new Parent Aware website.  And, a large-scale advertising campaign has been started promoting all Parent Aware Star-Rated programs to parents throughout the state.

Congratulations Houston Pre-K and Teachers Jamie Woodard and Amy Todd!