Grove gets the gold!

Downers Grove SD58 News

Grove Children’s Preschool earns the State’s highest rating for quality standards 

The Illinois State Board of Education awarded District 58’s Grove Children’s Preschool with the Gold Circle Quality of Excellence on its 2018-19 Preschool for All state audit report. The gold rating is the highest score that an Illinois preschool can achieve, and this is the second consecutive time that Grove Children's Preschool has earned this level of recognition.

“The teachers and staff of Grove Children’s Preschool work hard every day to deliver the highest quality education and care for each of our preschool students, and I am very proud that this work has been recognized once again with the State’s prestigious gold rating,” said Preschool Coordinator Jackelyn Cadard.

Grove Children’s Preschool aims to meet the developmental and individual needs of all children in a safe, inclusive and nurturing environment, while promoting educational success through engaging and collaborative learning experiences.

“I am very proud of Grove Children’s Preschool and its amazing staff,” said District 58 School Board Member and Parent Emily Hanus. “I am lucky to have the opportunity to send my little guy to Grove each day. At drop-off, I watch as teachers, instructional assistants, speech therapists, occupational therapists, social workers, and even administrators come out and greet the kids with smiles and kind words. Grove is a unique program where children of different ages, different ability levels, different struggles and different successes all come together to learn and grow every day. They all benefit from being a part of this blended and diverse community.” 

When the Illinois State Board of Education awards the Gold Circle Quality of Excellence to a preschool program, that designation is active for three years. Grove Children’s Preschool first earned this prestigious rating in August 2016 for 2016-2019. Grove completed another comprehensive state audit last school year, and once again earned the Gold Circle Quality of Excellence. This designation will be active from 2019-2022.

According to ExeleRate Illinois, the state's preschool rating system, a gold rating signifies: "programs that meet or go beyond the highest quality goals" and "programs (that) have met the highest quality standards in three areas: learning environment and teaching quality; administrative standards; and training & education. Programs are actively engaged in continuous quality improvement." 

To learn more information about Grove Children’s Preschool, please visit www.dg58.org/preschool. On Tuesday, Aug. 20, Preschool Coordinator Jackelyn Cadard surprised her staff with the announcement. View a two-minute announcement video.