Office of Urban Education, P-5, Preschool to Grade 5 Program

Preschool to Grade 5

What is the P-5 program?   Begun in 1986-87, central city elementary schools enrolling large numbers of economically disadvantaged students may receive annual state grants averaging $193,000 per school. P-5 grant funds are used to provide successful supplementary educational services. Currently, 38 schools participate from  4 districts (Beloit, Kenosha, Milwaukee and Racine).

How does the P-5 program work?   Schools chosen to participate develop school effectiveness proposals using a site-based management approach. Teachers, parents, community members, and administrators are directly involved in developing all school proposals which articulate how P-5 funds are used to meet identified needs of students. P-5 legislation (s. 115.45, Wis. Stats.) provides individual schools considerable autonomy to promote site-based management, although the following guidelines apply to all schools:

• Individual schools must revise and submit proposals each year for review by the state P-5 Advisory Council and approval by the state superintendent.
  
  
• Each school project must be evaluated each year based on locally developed goals and objectives
  
  
• Class size in all grades below the sixth is restricted to no more than 25 students
  
  
• Inservice training pertaining to a school's goals and objectives is required for all instructional staff.
  
  
• Each school must establish a local P-5 Council to promote shared decision making among teachers, parents, community members and administrators.
  
  
• Continued funding for all schools is reviewed every three years. Future funding is approved only if a school has demonstrated satisfactory gains in student achievement.
  
  

What are positive results of the P-5 program?  The primary P-5 goal is to provide and successful strategies for addressing the needs of economically disadvantaged students. Among these strategies are:

• extended-day kindergartens
  
  
• holistic writing assessment
  
  
• home/school workers
  
  
• language arts and/or mathematics coordinators
  
  
• learning style directed instruction
  
  
• Reading Specialists
  
  
• parent training
  
  
• preschool programs
  
  
• reading incentive projects
  
  
• science and/or computer laboratories
  
  
• student busing to reduce the high rate of mobility commonly occurring for students residing in central areas of large urban centers.
  
  
• tutorial services
  
  

For information contact: April Holland, or phone (414) 227-4942.

Information Last update: 3/18/04

For questions about this information, contact Mohini S. Moholkar (414) 227-4358

Last updated on 8/23/2005 7:12:59 PM