Starting school for the first time can be difficult, but a new collaboration in northern Door County could make it easier for your children. This marks the first year Gibraltar Area Schools will offer a 4K program to the community, an initiative started by the since retired superintendent Tina Van Meer. The challenge before was not upsetting the area's 4K ecosystem established by Northern Door Children's Center in Sister Bay, Peninsula Preschool in Ephraim, and the Dragonfly program at The Ridges Sanctuary in Baileys Harbor. All four institutions will work together as Gibraltar begins its 4K pilot program. That has meant changes for Northern Door Children's Center beyond the addition they are putting on their facility to accommodate the extra section of 4K students. Karen Corekin-DeLaMer from the center says they began adjusting their curriculum last year to accommodate the students crossing over from their facility to Gibraltar for kindergarten.

Corekin-DeLaMer added that working with new Superintendent Dr. Brett Strousland and Elementary School Principal Lauren Ward has been a fabulous experience, citing that the pair have been excited about the pilot program's potential and that it has been a true collaboration. Before this school year, Gibraltar was one of three school districts in the entire state without a 4K program.