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About Our Preschool

About GPS Preschool Programs

At Gilbert Public Schools we offer a range of preschool programs where young children learn social skills in real time, in a supportive environment, surrounded by qualified staff. At GPS we believe that high-quality preschool programs nurture warm relationships among children, teachers, and parents. All GPS preschool programs are aligned to the Arizona Department of Education Early Learning Standards.

Explore the variety of GPS Preschool Programs which all offer flexibility, choice, affordability, and fun for your child!

Registration for the 2024-2025 school year is open where space is available.  Preschool registration for the 2025-2026 school year will open on December 2, 2024.

Islands Advantage Preschool

Advantage

A guided play program aligned with the Arizona Department of Education Early Learning Standards with a focus on critical thinking skills and social-emotional development. 

Ages: 3 - 5 years old

School Day: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday
AM: 8:00 am - 10:30 am
PM: 11:15 pm - 1:45 pm

Advantage

This guided play program is aligned with the Arizona Department of Education Early Learning Standards, with a focus on critical thinking skills and social/emotional development. Thematic units are explored by students using a variety of learning styles and modalities, which, in turn, ignites curiosity and encourages sustained attention. The program is supplemented by using Handwriting without Tears and Creative Curriculum, intentional learning materials. Typically, developing peers and those with developmental delays work together and grow in one inclusive environment. Instruction is individualized based upon ongoing progress monitoring (Teaching Strategies GOLD) so the teacher knows what a child knows and what they are ready to learn next. GOLD is an authentic, ongoing observational system for assessing children from birth through Kindergarten. It helps teachers observe children in the context of everyday experiences, which is an effective way to learn what they know and can do.

Enroll Now for Advantage

Information on the Child Find Screening and Evaluation Process

Why Advantage?

Advantage Preschool provides opportunities for your child to:

  • Develop an enjoyment for learning
  • Explore and investigate for deeper knowledge
  • Develop problem-solving skills
  • Receive instruction from a certified teacher with the assistance of trained paraprofessionals
  • Build friendships with a variety of peers
  • Develop creativity
  • Learn how to be part of a classroom community
  • Receive individualized instruction informed by rigorous ongoing progress monitoring data analysis
  • Build social-emotional competence
  • Build communication skills
  • Develop fine and gross motor physical skills
  • Develop pre-academic knowledge and skills
  • Engage in purposeful and productive play experiences that foster memory development, symbolic thinking, positive approaches to learning, positive social and language skills, math skills, and self-regulation instruction.               
  • The Handwriting Without Tears® curriculum draws from years of innovation and research to provide developmentally appropriate, multi-sensory tools and strategies for your classroom. The program follows research that demonstrates children learn more effectively by actively doing, with materials that address all styles of learning.

The Creative Curriculum for Preschool is based on five fundamental principles. They guide practice and help us understand the reasons for intentionally setting up and operating preschool programs in particular ways. 

  • Positive interactions and relationships with adults provide a critical foundation for successful learning
  • Social-emotional competence is a significant factor in school success.
  • Constructive, purposeful play supports essential learning.
  • The physical environment affects the type and quality of learning interactions.
  • Teacher–family partnerships promote development and learning.
  • Our instruction is aligned to the Arizona Early Learning State Standards developed by the Arizona Department of Education.