Dilworth Church Weekday School

Our History

Our school was created in 2004 by Dilworth United Methodist Church in an effort to offer the community a preschool of excellence for children ages one through five (pre-kindergarten). Our mission is to provide children a place to learn and grow through active participation in a variety of developmentally appropriate activities in a nurturing Christian environment.

About Us

Dilworth United Methodist Weekday School is a small preschool located in the heart of Dilworth. We are a school where children thrive both socially and academically and families feel a strong sense of community. 

The program runs Monday-Friday and has several schedule choices for students. We operate on a September through May calendar and school hours are 9:00-12:30 for all classes except for TK which is from 9-1:00.  We generally observe the holiday schedule of CMS. A yearly calendar will be published and provided in our Parent Handbook that will be distributed over the summer.  Eligibility in our program is based on the child's age on August 31st. We require a medical report and proof of current vaccinations at the start of school.

The School

We are proud to offer:

• Creative Curriculum: An open-ended, developmentally appropriate curriculum where problem-solving is encouraged and learning is exciting
• Classrooms that focus on the development of the whole child. Intellectual, social, and self-help skills are taught in an effort to have each child reach his/her potential.
• Experienced teachers who enjoy teaching and understand how young children learn best. Their goal is to offer each of their students the tools necessary to begin their journey as engaged, life-long learners.
• A STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) lab that is changed monthly around a unique theme for exploration and experimentation.
• A variety of enrichment activities.
• Four-Year-Old and Transitional Kindergarten classes that are designed to prepare children for a successful year in kindergarten.
• A nurturing Christian environment where every child feels that they have infinite worth because he/she is a child of God. Developmentally appropriate Chapel lessons are taught on a regular basis by church staff. Blessings are given each day before lunch.

Teaching and Curriculum

Classroom teachers use The Creative Curriculum as a guide for their lesson plans. Each day allows for children to have circle time (whole group instruction), choice time in a variety of classroom centers as well as individual and small group instruction. The curriculum focuses on four areas of development: cognitive, social/emotional, language, and physical.

A focus on developing important literacy skills is central.
“Children need regular and active interactions with print. Specific abilities required for reading and writing come from immediate experiences with oral and written language. From these experiences, children learn that reading and writing are valuable tools that will help them do many things in life.” - The National Association for the Education of Young Children’s position statement on learning to read and write.

We are fortunate to have experienced and dedicated professionals on our staff. Our teachers understand that learning to value reading, learning to understand the parts of a book, and comprehend the subject matter of a book is important as well as learning letter and sound recognition. These objectives are all taken into account when planning various literacy lessons. Our teachers communicate regularly with parents to keep them up to date on our curriculum, as well as how their child is doing in class. In addition to regular communication, we offer conferences twice a year, as well as upon request. 

Children are well prepared for kindergarten because of early exposure to important pre-reading and writing skills. Math and science are also incorporated into classroom lesson plans even for the youngest of students. Math activities and manipulatives are used in many ways in order to teach children number sense, patterning, counting, sorting, and measurement. Older children have many opportunities to participate in science lessons and experimentation.

Exposure to the outside world and creative experiences are also an important part of each school day. Our school supports the belief that: “In play, a child always behaves beyond his average age, above his daily behavior. In play, it is as though he were a head taller than himself.” - Lev Vygotsky, Russian psychologist, Educational theorist.

Our New Transitional Kindergarten Program

Our Transitional program (also known as TK) is for children who just miss the state’s age cut-off or are not quite ready for Kindergarten, even though their birthdays are within the state guidelines to attend. These children are ready for more than preschool, but not yet ready for the pressure of traditional kindergarten. This program is not intended to be a repeat of our Pre-K or a 4-year-old preschool year, but to serve as a bridge between preschool and kindergarten. 

After completing our TK program your child will continue to kindergarten the following year. Students who attend the TK program do not typically advance to 1st grade directly from TK. 

The emphasis will be on school readiness and will be faster-paced than our Pre-K or regular 4-year-old programs. Students in this program will receive a modified Kindergarten curriculum that is balanced with age-appropriate activities. TK, therefore, offers a more advanced language, reading, handwriting, math, and social curriculum. Like the rest of our classes, our TK class will use Creative Curriculum as well as Responsive Classroom.  

In addition to that, we are excited to introduce Learning Without Tears. Their early learning programs use the most relevant research about how young children learn best so they can be prepared for kindergarten.

Our hopes are that this will be a wonderful program for those who need another year to develop physically, socially, or academically prior to entering Kindergarten.

Enrollment Choices

Registration and Enrollment - Registration for 2022 -2023 school year is closed.

• In order to be registered, an application  must be completed, signed, and turned into the school, and a registration fee must be paid. (registration link will be added in January when registration is open)
• Registration fee for currently enrolled students and siblings is $100, and $125 for first-time registrations.  If your child is admitted, the registration fee is non-refundable regardless of your decision to accept the space.
• For current families, a fee will be populated in Procare once the application is received. 
• New Families will also need to register and pay through Procare
• Currently enrolled students, siblings, and DUMC members have priority and will be considered for classes first. 
• Registration for currently enrolled students, siblings, and DUMC members takes place January 9th – 27th
• Registrations for new families takes place January 30^th – February 24^th.
• If a child is not admitted during the registration period, they will be placed on the waitlist. 
• Applications are accepted after this date on a space-available basis.  If no space is available, you may choose to be added to a waitlist.  Your registration fee will not be charged until a space becomes available.
• Paperwork an enrollment forms for 2023-24 will be distributed to parents over the summer and at open house

School Tours

We are currently offering in-person tours. If you are interested in attending, please email the director, Lee Anna Clark at leeanna.clark@dilworthchurch.org

        Tour Dates: January 17^th and February 16^th at 10:15

Please enjoy our virtual tour!

Summer Camp

Summer camp dates TBD

The Dilworth Weekday School does not discriminate against any applicant because of religious affiliation, race, age, gender, or handicap.

Useful Forms

• Emergency Contact
• Child Information
• Medical Report
• Enrollment Application 2023 - 2024