Many cities in Creek County, including Oilton and Bristow, offer government-funded Head Start programs, which assist low-income families with many services, including early childhood development. The program focuses on the involvement of the parent as an integral building block in the success of the program. Services are offered for all children who qualify, and special funds are allocated to assist those with a disability. The program focuses on more than education by providing hot meals, dental and medical check-ups, and social development skills to encourge an overall well-balanced child.
All preschools in the state of Oklahoma are required to have a special license that grants them the ability to provide care that extends beyond standard child care. In a public preschool, teachers will provide their students with a balance of free time, social activities, private time and educational development. The largest percentage of preschools are public ones, and they tend to be the most affordable. Kiefer Elementary School is an example of a public preschool that offers all-day care at no cost. While some public early childhood development programs do not require out-of-pocket costs, others do.
Religious-based preschool programs focus on combining education with spirituality. They also stress the importance of developing social skills as well as monitor proper physical and emotional development with their students.
Although there are currently no licensed religious-based preschools in Creek County, the Immanuel Lutheran Christian Academy offers a preschool in the neighboring county of Tulsa. Often, a religious-based preschool will cost more and be harder to find than a standard public preschool and may have tighter admittance restrictions.
Montessori schools are the hardest types of early childhood development centers to find because they promote intellectual development in a nontraditional manner. Children in a Montessori environment are encouraged to learn and discover at their own pace. They have "guides," rather than teachers, who support the child while allowing him to be self-correcting. It is believed that this method of teaching may foster a better sense of independence, responsibility, security and order.
There are currently no Montessori school programs in the county of Creek, although a few are located in nearby Tulsa County, including the Undercroft Montessori School. Montessori schools tend to be the most expensive of the preschool options.