Philosophy
Family T.I.E.S. is designed to offer a preschool program to 3, 4, and 5 year-old children not age-eligible for kindergarten, and services for their families. The consortium of schools, established to provide group support for staff, program, and families, provides developmentally appropriate active-learning experiences in sites designed to meet the needs of each community's preschoolers. All children are accepted as they are, and are encouraged to thrive in a supportive, non-judgmental and non-threatening atmosphere.
Member districts (East Dubuque, Galena, Scales Mound, River Ridge, Stockton, Warren, and Lena-Winslow) also agree that parents are children's first teachers. To support that, districts conduct home visits, open classrooms to families, and provide parent/child gatherings, at which time parents are supported in their role as teachers with information about child growth and development, learning, preschool curriculum, the importance of reading, ideas to use at home, and topics based on parent request and interest. Additional support is given parents who have other needs related to their own education, agency referrals, etc.