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August 11, 2006
Getting a jump on the first day of schoolHand raising, line leading, and the A-B-C song were on the agenda this week at Alexandria, Va. elementary schools for an innovative, one-of-a-kind pre-kindergarten "boot camp" designed to prepare students for kindergarten. The Washington Post reports that "at Lyles-Crouch Traditional Academy this week, and at 10 other Alexandria elementary schools, students arrived for their second day of a program—Kindergarten Prep—that is designed to ease the transition into kindergarten."
The program which is open to all incoming kindergarteners, is targeted at children who have never had any kind of school experience, for example students in "socioeconomically disadvantaged" groups.
The idea is that rather than being thrust into scary, unfamiliar surroundings with children who are old hands at going to school, they will first gain confidence that will stay with them as they move up through the grades.The school system reaches out to public housing complexes and parent resource centers to let people know about the program, which is free. Enrollment has expanded every year: There are 342 children this year, up from 237 last year.
The program, which runs from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and includes breakfast and lunch, is offered at 11 of the district's elementary schools—all except the two that operate on year-round calendars. The cost to the district is about $120,000 a year (the cost of one child being held back a grade is about $12,000). The program ends Aug. 18, two weeks before the regular school year begins Sept. 5.
The program gives students who may never have been in a classroom before the opportunity to see what to expect on the first day of school.
Posted August 11, 2006 3:55 PM | Students
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