Early Childhood Education

Welcome to the page of the East Orange School District Early Childhood Department. We work very hard to provide our preschool children with the essential opportunities to learn and practice the social-emotional, problem-solving, and academic skills that they will use throughout their lives. The East Orange School District provides a full-day preschool program for our youngest residents who turn three or four by October 1. We have preschool classrooms in ten of our district schools, and we collaborate with five licensed community providers and Head Start. There is no fee for the six-hour school day. Many of our community providers have before and after-care available.

Our mission is to join with all district and affiliated preschool classrooms to provide children with access to safe and accessible, high-quality early education that includes a developmentally appropriate curriculum, knowledgeable and highly skilled educators, and comprehensive services that support their health, nutrition, and social well-being in an environment that respects and supports diversity. We seek to improve professional practice and working conditions in the East Orange Early Childhood classrooms by providing professional development opportunities and resources for those who work for and with young children. We support early childhood teachers and classrooms by using reflective practice to improve instruction and develop an effective curriculum. Within our department, we will work to build a high-performing, inclusive organization of groups, and individuals who are committed to promoting excellence in early childhood education for all young children.

 

 

The East Orange School District Early Childhood Department aspires to be pioneers in collaboration with families and communities that focus on developmentally appropriate practices where young children, play, learn, and grow with the foundations needed to be educational models of excellence for the State of New Jersey.