Studies show that ninety percent of a child’s brain is formed by age five.
Taking this into account, the Tyrone Area School District has made a strong commitment to early childhood education.
Within the past few years, the school district has expanded the programs they offer for preschool children and is working closely with the community based preschools.
Beginning at age three, the Tyrone Area School District offers a program consisting of home visits twice a month and a story hour at the Tyrone Area Elementary School twice a month.
For children four years of age, the district offers a program consisting of half-day sessions four days a week and home visits once a week. There are four sessions of this program offered, two in the morning and two in the afternoon.
The Tyrone Area School District has also formed a partnership with several preschool programs that are located on site at the Tyrone Area Elementary School. Along with their own programs, there are also preschool programs from the YMCA, Blair County Head Start and Appalachia Intermediate Unit 8. The school district has developed a cohesive partnership with these programs, working together for activities and curriculum. YMCA, Head Start, and Intermediate Unit 8 offer daily sessions for three and four-year-olds.
The Tyrone Area School District has also started to work in cooperation with a number of community based preschools in the Tyrone area. They now work with A Child’s Garden Preschool, Presbyterian Church Preschool, Saint Matthew Preschool and Warriors Mark Church Preschool to help enhance their programs. The students from these preschools are invited to attend various activities with the students from the school district programs. Parents of students enrolled in the community based preschools are invited to a number of parent workshops hosted by the school district. Also, the teachers from these preschools are invited once a month to attend workshops hosted by the school district. These community based preschools also receive materials provided to the district from time to time.
The program has not gone unnoticed. In 2006, Shippensburg University recognized the Tyrone Area School District for their early childhood program. Also in 2006, Research For Better Schools, a national program, recognized the district as an “Exemplary Early Childhood Program”.
For more information on the programs offered by the Tyrone Area School District, call the Tyrone Area Elementary School at 684-1342.
