Mount Vernon City Schools (MVCSD) no longer operates a preschool classroom.  However, the Knox County Educational Service Center (Knox ESC) has four Early Childhood Education classrooms at the New Hope Early Education Center on Upper Gilchrist Road.  Students from Mount Vernon and around the county are welcome to apply there.  Mount Vernon City Schools continues to provide special education services to eligible students in other classrooms around the district such as Head Start, Knox County Career Center, the YMCA, Absolute Love, Faith Lutheran Preschool and the Esther Jetter preschool.

The Knox County ESC has a long history of successfully operating preschools around the county, and have been awarded the highest 5-Star rating in Ohio's Step Up To Quality program.   ESC classrooms are taught by highly qualified, licensed preschool teachers, and each classroom will have a teacher assistant.  No more than 18 students will be placed into each session and so a minimum ratio of 1:9 students will be maintained, with many sessions having an additional special education teacher who will come into the classroom regularly to meet the unique needs of students with disabilities.

Both typical and students with disabilities are welcome in any of the four classrooms. To enroll your child in a preschool classroom at New Hope, contact Knox ESC at 740-393-6980 or go to www.knoxesc.org and click on "Preschool" under the "Programs and Services" tab.