VPK

Once you have been accepted, you will need to apply to the Early Learning Coalition.

You will receive an email giving you your Certificate of Eligibility (COE). You will print that out and bring it to Aletheia to finalize the enrollment process.  Please verify that the certificate is issued by the ELC of Escambia.  If it is issued from Santa Rosa County, you will need to request a transfer certificate to Escambia County to enroll at Aletheia.  Make sure that you sign and date boxes 24 and 26 in Section II.

Here, we will enter into a VPK contract with you and sign the document as your provider.

Aletheia Christian Academy will then submit the contract to the Early Learning Coalition here in Escambia County. The final approval of the child’s application will be authorized by the state upon Aletheia’s signing of the provider contract with the Early Learning Coalition. This will take place in late July.

Note: Once this formality has taken place, Aletheia will be your official provider for VPK.

Attendance during the initial “Start-Up Days” is crucial in facilitating a positive classroom community. Therefore, attendance the first 4 days of school is MANDATORY so that students can begin to establish the daily routine.

Late arrivals and departures are disruptive to the learning process. All VPK instruction begins promptly at 8:00 AM. The VPK classroom door opens at 7:45 a.m. Arrivals after 8:15 a.m. are considered tardy. Any student who is tardy more than three times in one month may be terminated from the VPK-funded program.

Pursuant to Rule 60BB-8.204 concerning attendance and funding for the Florida Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten Program, the following requirements apply:

• Each child is allowed a maximum of 3 unexcused absences per calendar month.
• An additional 5 absences per month may be for extraordinary circumstances, and must be documented by a person other than the parent, and unrelated to the child, i.e. physician, officer of the court, etc.

PLEASE NOTE – absences of five (5) consecutive instructional days without proper documentation will be considered a WITHDRAWAL from the VPK-funded program at ACA. Withdrawals of this nature are not eligible for re-enrollment in the VPK-funded program at ACA.

Absences due to Extraordinary Circumstances include:

• Illness/Injury of Child/family requiring hospitalization or bed rest (physician notice required)
• Medical or dental appointment (physician notice required)
• Infectious disease or parasitic infestation (physician notice required)
• Funeral services/memorial or bereavement of child’s family member (Obituary or death certificate required)
• Compliance with court order (Court order required)
• Special education or related services for child’s disability (program enrollment certification required)
• Religious holiday observance
• Family vacation – not to exceed 5 excused absences per program year
• Extraordinary circumstances beyond the control of the child and the child’s parent

Children must be signed in & out of the VPK program each day. Signatures must be complete – initials are not allowed.
Parents must complete and sign the mandatory attendance verification forms EACH MONTH. These forms will be signed on the first day of the following month (ex. verification for August’s attendance will be signed on Sept. 1). Your child’s continued funding in the program depends on your cooperation in signing these forms in a timely fashion. These forms verify that:

• your child’s attendance is accurate for the month
• you direct payment to be made to ACA
• you continue to choose ACA as your VPK provider of choice

Students who comply with the aforementioned guidelines will continue to be served by ACA under the Florida VPK funding statutes, administered by the Early Learning Coalition of Escambia County. If for any reason cause is found to terminate any child’s VPK funding status, the child may continue to attend ACA, but the parents or guardians will be required to pay full monthly tuition and applicable fees for the remainder of the school year.

Parents must download, print, and turn in the completed VPK Attendance Policy Agreement.  This document is available for download at the right top of this page.