I have some incredible news to share, and as a founder and a mom, I could not be prouder of our teams!
The Florida Department of Education just released the latest VPK Provider Performance Metrics, and all four of our established Bloom VPK programs received the highest possible designation: EXCELLENT!
Cypress Commons, East Town, Harborside, and Punta Gorda all hit the top mark. Four schools. Four EXCELLENT designations. 100% Bloom!
(And for our families at our newest locations, like our brand-new Seagate Drive campus in Naples and our Cedarwood campus, these state evaluations apply only to campuses that completed a full VPK cycle last school year. Now that our Seagate and Cedarwood VPK classrooms are officially open and running this year, we cannot wait to watch them earn their very first ‘Excellent’ rating alongside their sister schools!)
This rating is not just a score on a spreadsheet. It represents every lesson planned, every assessment completed, every child encouraged, and every day our educators showed up ready to give our kiddos their absolute best. But what does an “Excellent” rating actually mean for your family, and why is starting early in a high-quality program so vital for your child growing up in Naples?
The Neuroscience of Early Childhood: Why the First Five Years Matter Most
Parents often think of prekindergarten as a final step to get ready for kindergarten. But brain science tells a much deeper story. Between birth and age five, the human brain builds over one million new neural connections every single second, a rate of growth that never happens again in a person’s lifetime.
During these early years, a child’s experiences literally shape the architecture of their brain. The pathways forged during toddlerhood and early preschool lay the structural foundation for emotional resilience, problem-solving, vocabulary, and social capability.
When children spend these formative years in a warm, screen-free, and intentional environment:
- Executive Function Thrives: Through hands-on block play and creative exploration, children practice focus, working memory, and self-regulation, the mental skills that make sitting for circle time or following multi-step directions second nature.
- Language Networks Supercharge: Face-to-face interactions, singing, and rich storytelling spark rapid neural development in language centers, building an expansive vocabulary long before formal reading instruction begins.
- Social-Emotional Security Expands: Learning to share space, express big feelings, and navigate early friendships with gentle teacher guidance builds deep emotional resilience that lasts a lifetime.
These early years offer an incredible opportunity to nurture the skills children will carry with them into kindergarten and beyond. High-quality early learning gives children more time to practice, explore, connect, and build those foundations naturally through everyday experiences.
What Florida’s “Excellent” Rating Actually Measures
Florida’s VPK evaluation system is designed to look at the whole child and the complete classroom experience, rather than relying on a single snapshot. The state measures three vital areas to determine a program’s performance designation:
- Achievement: How children demonstrate mastery of emergent literacy and early math concepts at the end of their VPK year.
- Learning Gains: The measurable, individual progress each child makes from their first day of VPK to their last.
- Program Quality (CLASS® Scores): Research-backed evaluations that measure the actual warmth, sensitivity, and instructional quality of teacher-child interactions inside the classroom.
Earning an “Excellent” designation across the board confirms that our approach isn’t just loving and welcoming, it is deeply effective in supporting young minds.
The Bloom Standard: Where Brain Science Meets Daily Joy
We achieve these exceptional student outcomes by staying fiercely committed to what young children truly need to thrive:
- Screen-Free Learning: Our classrooms prioritize real-world experiences over screens. Children spend their days talking, building, creating, moving, exploring sensory materials, enjoying the outdoors, and connecting face-to-face with teachers and friends.
- Total All-Inclusive Ease: We support our families by taking care of the daily details. Fresh wholesome meals, healthy snacks, curriculum supplies, child-safe sunscreen, and bug spray are all included standard with tuition.
- Full-Day Wraparound Care: Standard state VPK covers only three hours a day. We build enriching, full-day coverage around those hours so your child enjoys a consistent, peaceful routine from morning through afternoon.
Bringing Our “Excellent” Family to Seagate Drive
Our established campuses deserve to soak this milestone in! But the most exciting part is looking ahead.
Now that our Cedarwood campus and our brand-new Bloom Academy Seagate location in Naples have their VPK classroom programs up and running, I have a feeling our “Excellent” club is about to grow!
Bringing this exact same standard of exceptional, research-backed early learning to Seagate Drive, conveniently located right next door to Seagate Elementary, means Naples families no longer have to choose between a warm, boutique atmosphere and proven educational excellence. Whether your little one is taking their first steps in our Ones toddler room or preparing for elementary school in VPK, they are entering a space designed to help them blossom.
I cannot wait to see all Bloom schools on the state’s “Excellent” list next year!
Want to see an “Excellent” early learning environment in action? Schedule a campus tour at Bloom Academy Seagate today to meet our passionate educators, walk through our sunlit classrooms, and feel the Bloom difference for yourself.
