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By MICHELE SAGER

msager@tampatrib.com

Published: June 10, 2009

TAMPA - Hillsborough County's free prekindergarten program starts today, and families can still sign up.

The school district will offer its summer Voluntary Prekindergarten program at 24 schools through July 30. Children born between Sept. 2, 2003, and Sept. 1, 2004, who are Florida residents and have never participated in voluntary prekindergarten are eligible.

The program is monitored by the state's scoring system. Centers are ranked on a scale of 0 to 300. The readiness rating is based on how well students perform in three key areas: alphabet recognition, sound recognition and classroom readiness.

Providers classified as low-performing, scoring below 214 two consecutive years, must put together improvement plans. Providers whose readiness scores don't rise by their fourth year can't offer voluntary prekindergarten.

The school district's VPK is offered from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Hours are flexible, so children can be dropped off later than 7:30 a.m. or picked up before 6 p.m.

No bus transportation is provided. Children will receive breakfast, lunch and a snack. For information, call the district VPK office at (813) 272-4840, or go to www.sdhc.k12.fl.us and click on the voluntary prekindergarten link.

Keyword: VPK, for a complete list of VPK providers and state rankings. Reporter Michele Sager can be reached at (727) 451-2344.

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