March 29, 2021

Congratulations to Myrtlewood Elementary! Myrtlewood will receive funding through the Pre-K through 3rd Grade Integrated Approach to Early Learning (P-3) program for the upcoming school year. Myrtlewood is one of just ten schools statewide that were recently annouced as new recipients of the funding.

The P-3 program works to ensure student success and close the achievement gap, by expanding the early learning continuum from First Class Pre-K through 3rd grade. The program takes the most successful parts of K-3 initiatives to establish a strong foundation of early learning experiences and promote student achievement. 

First grade teacher Mrs. Alison Wright played a key role in securing this funding for Myrtlewood, and the kindergarten teachers will play an integral part in implementing the P-3 program at Myrtlewood.

“As we work to align the birth through 8-year-old early learning continuum, P-3 provides successful transition of Pre-K children and families into their school settings,” Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education Secretary Barbara Cooper said.

P-3 is funded by the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education through the Governor’s Strong Start, Strong Finish education initiative, and the federal Preschool Development Grant, Birth through Five.

Currently, 3,022 children are impacted by the P-3 program. With the recent addition of 34 new classrooms to the program, more than 3,600 students will be participating in the Pre-K – 3rd Grade Integrated Approach to Early Learning in the upcoming 2021-2022 school year.

In addition to the P-3 classroom funding, administrators are given the opportunity to participate in the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) Pre-K – 3rd Grade Leadership Academy. The first collaborative initiative of its kind in the nation, the P-3 Leadership Academy is provided in partnership with NAESP and the Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools (CLAS). This is the only such program in which participants, upon successful completion of the program, receive a national certification credential.

Research findings from multi-year early education interventions suggest that the components of the P-3 approach can combine to make a positive contribution to young children’s learning, providing the pathways through which more children will achieve success by the end of 3rd grade.