Muscle Shoals Early Learning Center

Our first month of school is now complete, and our Pre-K students have adjusted so well! I would like to personally thank our incredible teachers for their dedication to developmentally appropriate preschool education. It is absolutely AMAZING to watch how they mold and shape our tiny Trojans. I have no doubt that our students will be well-prepared for kindergarten!

September is shaping up to be a very busy month. We are SO excited to welcome grandparents to our campuses on September 3 and 4 (12:00 p.m. until 12:45 p.m.) for Goodies with Grands. We are excited to share our sweet school with these individuals who play such an important role in the lives of our tiny Trojans! If your child's grandparents are unable to attend, please feel free to invite another significant person to join us! We want ALL children to have a special guest.

Another important event on our calendar is our FCPK-required health assessments. The assessments will take place on September 11 under the direction of the nursing department from the University of North Alabama. During parent orientation, you should have completed the permission form for health assessments. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me or your child's teachers.

Please read this newsletter carefully and mark your calendar for upcoming events.

Thank you for supporting the MSELC! We love serving you and our tiny Trojans!

Housed within the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education, the Office of School Readiness (OSR) administers Alabama’s diverse delivery, voluntary, high-quality Pre-K program. Classrooms are partially funded through a grant process in which sites must meet specific quality assurances and abide by rigorous operating guidelines. Alabama’s First Class PreK program has been awarded the highest quality rating by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) for 20 consecutive years, which includes four years of highest ratings based on more stringent measures of practice.

We are THRILLED to be a part of the First Class PreK network!

Did you know that students who are chronically absent (missing 10 percent or more of school days) in preschool, kindergarten, and first grade are much less likely to read at grade level by third grade? Subsequently, students who are not proficient readers are 4 TIMES more likely to drop out of high school than proficient readers!

ATTENDANCE MATTERS! Please make sure your child arrives no later than 7:45 a.m. Make every effort to limit the number of times your child checks in or out. When 10 tardies have been accumulated, the child is considered "chronically tardy" and we will notify our regional First Class PreK staff. This may result in dismissal of the child from our program.

While we want to express the importance of great attendance, we also want to keep our children healthy! Please do not bring your child to school if he/she is sick. Remember, children must be fever free WITHOUT MEDICATION for 24 hours before returning to school. Thank you for helping us protect the health of our tiny Trojans!

We currently have an opening in one of our PreK classrooms. Our waiting list is always available to students who are interested in our program. When an opening is available. we will work through our waitlist to fill it. If you know of a child meeting the following requirements, please tell the child's parents to contact Dr. Woods for information regarding joining the waiting list for the MSELC.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Must turn 4 years old by September 1, 2026
• Must reside in the Muscle Shoals City Schools attendance zone and maintain residency as defined by MSCS board policy for the duration of enrollment at the MSELC (*Non-residents are not allowed at MSELC)
• Must be able to provide a Muscle Shoals Electric Bill in the name of the custodial parents (*If the student resides in the MSCS attendance zone but the parent is unable to provide a Muscle Shoals electric bill in his/her name, the parent should contact Dr. Woods to discuss next steps.)

In 1995, Dolly Parton launched an exciting new effort, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, to benefit the children of her home county in East Tennessee, USA. Dolly’s vision was to foster a love of reading among her county’s preschool children and their families. The new program gave each child a specially selected book each month. By mailing high quality, age appropriate books directly to their homes, Dolly wanted children to be excited about books and to feel the magic that books can create. Moreover, she could ensure that every child would have books, regardless of their family’s income.

Since its launch, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has set and surpassed many goals and milestones. National replication, which started in 2000, allowed more and more communities to adopt the program. State-wide coverage was established in Tennessee in 2004. Furthermore, international growth provided expansion in Canada (2006), United Kingdom (2007) and Australia (2014).

The first book order in 1995 totaled just over 1,700. Today, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library sends more than one million books per month to children around the world inspiring them to Dream More, Learn More, Care More and Be More.

For registration information, use THIS LINK!

We are excited to welcome grands to our campuses. Please note the date on which your child's class is scheduled and share this information with his/her grands!

September 3 (12:00-12:45)

• Carr
• Pettus
• Hester

September 4 (12:00-12:45)

• Corble
• Shirley
• Steen

Butler Studios will be on our campuses on Wednesday, September 16 for fall school portraits. These images will also be used for our class group composites, so it is very important that all children are photographed. Remakes are scheduled for October 30.

We will dismiss early on Wednesday, September 23 at 12:00 p.m. for our teachers to participate in professional learning. Extended day services will not be available on this date.

Reminder: The MSELC will be CLOSED on October 26-29. Our teachers will be participating in a mandatory First Class PreK conference.

MSELC Director

Email: dwoods@mscs.k12.al.us
Website: www.mscs.k12.al.us
Location: 2118 East 6th Street, Muscle Shoals, AL, USA
Phone: (256) 389-2699