Mission Statement
The mission of Joyce Preschool is to provide children from diverse ethnic, linguistic, and economic backgrounds with developmentally and culturally appropriate preparation for success in school and lifelong learning. This mission is achieved through providing quality early childhood education and family support in a dual immersion setting. Our program provides the crucial bridge to success in K-12 education. We focus on school readiness, second language acquisition and cultural appreciation, and parent involvement and support.
Impact and Programs
Accomplishments
Joyce Preschool provided quality, affordable, and equitable preschool programming to 80 students in neighborhoods of South Minneapolis. Through parent support, we connected families to resources and built a community which served as a safety net for families, specifically immigrant and Spanish-speaking individuals, which supports their student's success. Joyce's constituents were disproportionally affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the riots in South Minneapolis as a result of the murder of George Floyd. Therefore, Joyce took an active role in providing resource connection, emergency financial relief, food distribution, and emotional support for families and students.
Current Goals
For the 2020-2021 fiscal year, Joyce is focusing on providing safe, quality education throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We are focusing on the social-emotional wellbeing of students and families and providing consistency for children in a world which seems to be constantly shifting. We continue to focus on Kindergarten readiness as it is a major predictor of future success in school, with a goal of 90% of students achieving benchmarks in academics. We aim to provide virtual home visits to all families exhibiting need, with a goal of connecting 100% of families to resources which support their unique needs.
Community or Constituency Served
Joyce Preschool serves preschool students, ages 3-5, and their families. Approximately 60% of students attending are from low-income families and receive tuition assistance and 50% of students are from primarily Spanish-speaking homes. Joyce believes that in-classroom performance is affected by at-home circumstances and therefore, we focus on the whole family to ensure student success.
Geographic Area Served
Joyce operates three classrooms in South Minneapolis and primarily serves families from South Minneapolis and the surrounding neighborhoods.