Thank you for your interest in a pre-k screening for your child. Due to the continued growth in our district, all of the Mascoutah School District preschool classrooms will be housed at Wingate Elementary for the 2025-2026 school year. Pre-k screenings for the 2025-2026 school year can be completed by following the below steps. If your child already has an IEP, please contact the Student Services Department at 618-566-7414, ext. 3117, prior to beginning the screening steps. These steps will allow us to collect the information necessary to determine your child's eligibility for our At-Risk Pre-k Program. Children must be age 3 by September 1, 2025, cannot turn 5 before September 1, 2025, and reside in the Mascoutah CUSD 19 Boundaries.

STEP 1 - Online Pre-k Screening Parent Packet: Complete this online informational packet about your child and family.  This information helps us get to know your child and family.  It also provides us with some of the necessary information we need to determine your child’s at-risk score, which is used for program eligibility.

Once you complete STEP 1, you will receive an email with the link and instructions to complete STEPS 2 & 3.

STEP 2: Sign up for an In-person Screening Slot: May 27, 28, or 29, at Wingate Elementary School.

STEP 3: Complete the ASQ-3 and ASQ-SE2 Developmental Screening. 

STEP 4: In-person Screening (STEPS 2 and 3 must be completed prior to attending)

• What to bring: Income/Public Benefits Documentation* (see below for more information)

• Who should attend: Your child and a parent/guardian

*Income and Public Benefits Documentation:

• Household Income: documentation may include two most recent pay stubs, most recent tax return, most recent W-2, or a verification letter from employer.  

• Medicaid Card: must be in the parent’s name (if applicable)

• SNAP: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program formerly known as Food Stamps (if applicable)

• WIC: Women, Infants, and Children (if applicable)

• TANF: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (if applicable)

• CCAP: Child Care Assistance Program (if applicable)

• Housing Subsidy (if applicable)

*This documentation is required in order to have your child considered for eligibility in the pre-kindergarten program at Wingate Elementary.  If income is not provided, your child may still be screened but will not be considered for pre-k.

All steps must be completed in order for your child to be considered for the pre-k program.  Not all children who are screened will receive a spot in the program. Questions about screenings or pre-k may be sent to prekscreenings@msd19.org or call Yesenia Sims at 618-746-4802, x8120 .

Our program is an at-risk program. Children are ranked in order of need to fill the program. If you are interested in the pre-k program, we will utilize the results of the formal screening tool (ASQ), as well as risk factors identified during the In-person Screening Exit Interview to determine your child’s placement on the ranked list. There is a priority to take four-year-old children in the program who will be eligible for kindergarten in the following school year.

The screening results and paperwork will be used to consider your child for the 2025-2026 preschool program only.  You will receive an email that indicates whether or not your child has been accepted into the program, detailing which session they have been assigned to.  If your child has been placed on a waiting list, we will contact you if and when an opening becomes available.  This could happen anytime during the school year.  Please let us know as soon as possible if you are not interested in having your child placed on the waiting list. 

Mascoutah School District will have 6 preschool classrooms for the 2025-2026 school year housed at Wingate Elementary School. Our pre-k program is an at-risk program. Our program is part of the Preschool for All Grant and follows all grant guidelines. The pre-k program offers a morning and afternoon session. Morning/Afternoon Session Placement of eligible students is based on District transportation and program recommendation.  Parent requests for morning or afternoon sessions are not accepted. Parents will be informed of their child’s placement if they receive an invitation to the program.

If you have concerns about your 3- or 4-year-old child or have questions about our pre-k programs and live within the Mascoutah School District boundaries, please email or call Jessica Seger, Early Learning Student Services Coordinator, at 618-746-4802, ext. 8505.

The pre-k program uses developmentally appropriate instruction to help our young students learn through exploration and discovery, interactive play, modeling, song, and a variety of hands-on opportunities. The pre-k daily schedule includes play-based centers, gross motor activity, whole group lessons, and snack. Parents are considered an active part of their child’s education and are welcome to volunteer in their child’s classroom, attend parent education activities, and participate in field trips and parent/child activities throughout the school year. Our teachers foster parent communication through open communication, a weekly newsletter, and fall, spring, and end-of-the-year parent/teacher conferences.

Children in the pre-k program are assessed using the GOLD Assessment. The GOLD is an online observation-based assessment that help teachers evaluate student progress in four domain areas (mathematics, social-emotional, language, cognitive, literacy, and physical development) aligned with current early learning standards and expectations.