Situated on the Cook County Schools campus, this School Readiness program is offered by Cook County Community Education, with support from the State of Minnesota’s Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten program & other partners. The intention of the program is to provide Cook County families with children of ages 3-5 with a high quality, developmentally-appropriate, and nurturing early childhood experience.

At Sawtooth Mountain Preschool, we believe children have a built-in drive to explore. We cultivate this through:

• Providing an environment where children can learn from and teach each other;

• Supporting children’s self-direction as they pursue learning;

• Utilizing storytelling to develop language, social skills and problem solving;

• Providing regular experiences with nature – we have a forest path connecting right on our campus;

• Encouraging problem solving;

• Encouraging cooperative learning and kind-heartedness;

• Appreciating the diversity of all families within and beyond our classroom community

Sawtooth Mountain Preschool uses the High–Scope curriculum along with the Desired Results Developmental Profile – Preschool assessment tool. We use multiple curricular approaches during our days including;

• Hands-on experiences in nature;

• Open-ended imaginative play / dramatic play;

• Music and movement;

• Exposure to a variety of healthy, whole foods for snacks;

• Art activities;

• Self-care activities;

• Language activities;

• Exploratory math activities;

• Sensory activities.

Sawtooth Mountain Preschool is 4-star Parent-Aware Rated! Participating in this rigorous rating process shows our dedication to providing the best possible learning environment for our youngest Cook County learners. We hope you’ll join us for the experience!

Josh Belanger
Principal PK-12
Cook County Schools
218.387.2271 x603
jbelanger@isd166.org