School district expands its VPK program
Stresses importance for pre-kindergarten 4-year-olds
School District of Lee County
The School District of Lee County has expanded its Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten program into Cape Coral for the 2026-2027 school year.
The state-funded, free three-hour per weekday early learning program is designed to help prepare 4-year-olds for kindergarten. The school district has expanded its VPK to a full-day program with three extra hours, with no extra charge. The program follows the elementary school instructional day hours and calendar.
The 17 schools to offer the program include Gulf Elementary, Skyline Elementary, Amanecer Elementary, Early Childhood Center, Franklin Park Elementary, G. Weaver Hipps Elementary, James Stephens Community School, Harns Marsh Middle, Lehigh Elementary, Manatee Elementary, Ray V. Pottorf Elementary, San Carlos Park Elementary and Spring Creek Elementary.
School District Early Childhood Learning Director Dr. Bethany Quisenberry said VPK is an important program because it provides kindergarten readiness skills, adding that according to the Florida Department of Education, 90% of a child’s brain is fully developed by the age of 5.
If a student does not participate in the VPK program, Quisenberry said the child has a 75% chance of never being on grade level.
“It’s the strongest predictor of later achievement – a huge impact on your third-grade scores and high school graduation,” Quisenberry said.
With those staggering statistics, she said the school district continues to expand its VPK program offerings.
“The biggest need for Pre-K was in Lehigh because of how fast the East Zone was growing. Last school year we opened an Early Learning Childhood Center at G. Weaver Hipps with 20 classrooms. It’s a big learning center,” she said. “That was a huge part of the expansion. By utilizing VPK funding and Title 1 funding, we were able to open an additional 18 classrooms across the district last year.”
New for the 2026-2027 school year, the district was able to open additional classrooms at Harns Marsh Elementary, Ray V. Pottorf Elementary, San Carlos Elementary, Bonita Middle and Franklin Park Elementary with their new build.
“The reason why they are at the middle school is we go where there is space,” Quisenberry said.
The district also expanded into Cape Coral with four additional VPK classrooms.
Quisenberry said they continue to have a waitlist for the VPK program, currently 350 students. She said by January and February that waitlist shoots up to 600 students.
“There is a huge need for Pre-K,” Quisenberry said.
There is an 18-student cap for each classroom, which is run by a early childhood certified teacher and a paraprofessional.
The student’s day begins with family-style breakfast to talk about nutrition and what they are eating. The same concept is used for lunch as well.
The program also includes a reading block that uses songs while learning foundational skills, instructional centers for 45-minute play-based learning, an art area and play area, as well as math centers.
Quisenberry said these centers help because they might be playing with blocks and talking about measurements, or counting, sorting and having conversations using different vocabulary words.
The students also have a nap time.
“We do a lot of developmental and social/emotional learning. A big part of being kindergarten ready is understanding the schedule of the school day and development skills,” she said, such as learning how to use a pencil, playing with Playdoh for fine motor skills and collaborative learning. “They have opportunities to make friends and talking to students their age.”
If a student has a special need, such as speech, they will receive those services at the VPK program.
Parents can enroll their students for the VPK program in January, the same time as open enrollment is held for kindergarten. The seats are first-come, first-serve and they fill quickly. The student must be 4 years old by Sept. 1 to participate in the program.
A student can be enrolled without the VPK voucher, but they must have the voucher by the first day of school.
A simplified, three-step process is available at www.leeschools.net with how-to videos and answers to frequently asked questions
“We don’t enroll for student enrollment, (parents) go to the website first, fill out information and then we contact them,” Quisenberry said.
To reach MEGHAN BRADBURY, please email news@breezenewspapers.com