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Parents in the Blue Springs School District will soon have another option for their prekindergarten children.
Beginning in the 2012-13 school year, Blue Springs will offer “transitional kindergarten.” The program will provide a transition for identified children between preschool and kindergarten. There will be a modified curriculum that is developmentally and age appropriate and will include a variety of instructional strategies. The two classrooms, which will have about 15 students each, will be housed at Cordill-Mason Elementary School.
“We think this will be a great way to help some students make that transition to a regular kindergarten classroom,” Annette Seago, deputy superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said at Monday’s Board of Education meeting. “This is something that is really needed.”
Students in transitional kindergarten must be age-eligible to attend kindergarten. That means they must be 5 years old by July 31. They will be identified through yearly Parents As Teacher screenings, Title I, classroom observations and parent surveys. After the first year of the program, students will enter kindergarten at their home school. Seago said this is the first such program in the area that she is aware of.
“We will be doing a lot of mainstreaming for certain activities,” Seago said of the program. “If students are well prepared to mainstream into the regular kindergarten room early, we will not keep them (in the transitional program) for the full year. We will move them into that classroom.”
The transitional kindergarten program will provide the same quantity and quality of instruction as in the regular kindergarten program. Teachers will have early childhood certification and prior experience working at the pre-school or primary grade level.
Students will be considered a part of the K-5 education program, and the rooms will mirror traditional kindergarten rooms. They will also be transported by school bus as are other students.
“This is an opportunity to build a solid foundation for academic success,” Seago said. “We are excited for what is to come.”
Parents in the Blue Springs School District will soon have another option for their prekindergarten children.
Beginning in the 2012-13 school year, Blue Springs will offer “transitional kindergarten.” The program will provide a transition for identified children between preschool and kindergarten. There will be a modified curriculum that is developmentally and age appropriate and will include a variety of instructional strategies. The two classrooms, which will have about 15 students each, will be housed at Cordill-Mason Elementary School.
“We think this will be a great way to help some students make that transition to a regular kindergarten classroom,” Annette Seago, deputy superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said at Monday’s Board of Education meeting. “This is something that is really needed.”
Students in transitional kindergarten must be age-eligible to attend kindergarten. That means they must be 5 years old by July 31. They will be identified through yearly Parents As Teacher screenings, Title I, classroom observations and parent surveys. After the first year of the program, students will enter kindergarten at their home school. Seago said this is the first such program in the area that she is aware of.
“We will be doing a lot of mainstreaming for certain activities,” Seago said of the program. “If students are well prepared to mainstream into the regular kindergarten room early, we will not keep them (in the transitional program) for the full year. We will move them into that classroom.”
The transitional kindergarten program will provide the same quantity and quality of instruction as in the regular kindergarten program. Teachers will have early childhood certification and prior experience working at the pre-school or primary grade level.
Students will be considered a part of the K-5 education program, and the rooms will mirror traditional kindergarten rooms. They will also be transported by school bus as are other students.
“This is an opportunity to build a solid foundation for academic success,” Seago said. “We are excited for what is to come.”
