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Program aims to ease transition of kindergartners, many without preschool, as they enter early grades
By John Higgins
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Friday, Sep 12, 2008
Two local elementary schools are among 10 in the state that will participate in a two-year pilot program to form a stronger link between preschools and the public schools they feed into.
Leggett Elementary in Akron and Youtz Elementary in Canton each will receive $10,000 in the ''Ready Schools'' project, which starts this year.
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton are each contributing $100,000 for the two-year program, with 10 schools in the first year and an additional 10 added in the second year.
The first eight schools, including Leggett and Youtz, will be formally announced Monday in Columbus at a forum that Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland will hold with educational leaders.
Organizers held a press conference Thursday about the event, which is one of five state forums aimed at improving the transition of children from preschool programs to the early grades of public education.
The Kellogg Foundation is sponsoring the forums in states selected for their efforts to make smooth transitions between preschool programs and early grades. The other four states are Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Arizona and Colorado.
Leggett principal Philamena Vincente said she is excited to attend the forum on Monday.
''We're going to find out more on Monday after we meet with the governor and have a real work session,'' she said.
Only 10 percent of incoming kindergartners at Leggett and Mason elementary schools have attended preschool, and they typically score low on the state's kindergarten readiness assessment.
''A lot of our kindergartners don't become typical kindergartners until January because of their home situation and not going to preschool or Head Start,'' Vincente said.
But Leggett will benefit this year from a kindergarten readiness program for children ages 3 to 6 imported from Stark County.
Over the last five years, the Kellogg Foundation, through the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton, has been operating a version of a national program called SPARK (Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids).
The program trains ''parent partners'' to visit families in their homes eight to 12 times a year and show them effective ways to build basic literacy skills.
Kids get free books and other learning materials, as well as their school supplies for kindergarten. Children in the program have scored significantly higher on kindergarten readiness assessments than peers who have not been in the program.
The University Park Alliance, which represents a 50-block area surrounding the University of Akron, received a $1.08 million grant from the GAR Foundation to start a SPARK program for kids entering Leggett and Mason elementary schools.
This fall, 28 kids who graduated from the SPARK program, started kindergarten at Leggett and Mason, and organizers are recruiting families for next year.
Kellogg has focused on making kids ready for school and now, through this new grant, it will focus on making the schools ready to receive them.
And that means making sure that parents stay engaged when their children enter kindergarten, said Joni Close, senior program director at Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton.
''All schools mean to do this and they all put out volunteer checklists for families, but often parents don't get called or the checklist isn't what the teacher really needs,'' Close said. ''We have to effectively find a way to engage families when their children are at their youngest and when the families are most open to it with their child's education.''
If parents are engaged when their children are in kindergarten, they'll feel more comfortable about working with educators later on.
''Then they'll have the means to go to the school and get help for their child when they really need it in the older grades,'' Close said. ''It's too late to start when they're older.''
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John Higgins can be reached at 330-996-3792 or jhiggins@thebeaconjournal.com.
Two local elementary schools are among 10 in the state that will participate in a two-year pilot program to form a stronger link between preschools and the public schools they feed into.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Sterling, Oh
Posted 01:00 PM, 09/12/2008
Limiting pilot project of schools to graduating every student with the abality to read, write, think for themselves, count change when the power goes off, and understand what Natural Law, God, democracy, capitalism, and free, fair, and affordable commerce demands of them. Would make life in the USA affordable.
Vatican , It
Posted 01:05 PM, 09/12/2008
Loren, Loren, Loren, we are all snorin.....Quit propping up this new nonsense called a format...
