Smooth transition sought
CRANBERRY TWP — The transition from preschool to kindergarten is an important one.
“It's their first transition into public education. It's a monumental piece of their life,” said Sean McCarty, assistant superintendent for kindergarten through sixth-grade instruction for the Seneca Valley School District.
To smooth this transition and create better continuity for students and educators, Seneca Valley on Feb. 24 had a Pre-Kindergarten Summit.
About 30 preschool teachers participated in the summit at Haine Elementary School. They heard presentations from Seneca Valley administrators, visited kindergarten classrooms and held group discussions.
For this school year, Seneca Valley has 459 students in half-day kindergarten in its four elementary schools. The majority of students attend at least one year of preschool and kindergarten, although neither is required by the state, McCarty said.
There are about 50 preschool providers in the district, said DeeAnn Graham, principal for Connoquenessing Valley Elementary School. The district also has its own preschool program, which is at the high school.
Though the state Department of Education offers recommended standards for preschool, preparedness for kindergarten can vary greatly from student to student depending on where they went to preschool and where they are in their development.
“Every child's development is different. We're here to take them from where they are and move them forward,” she said.
By having the preschool providers visit the kindergarten classrooms and having Seneca Valley administrators visit the preschools, the two hopefully can work better together, she told the group at the summit.
“We want to work with your feedback to put a pathway toward continued conversations,” Graham said.
Cassie Pencek, assistant principal at Rowan Elementary School, talked about the daily routine for a kindergarten student in the district.
The kindergarten day is two and a half hours in the Seneca Valley district. Students receive instruction every day in language arts and math and also attend technology and library specials, she said.
Points of emphasis include having a “soft landing,” or a regular routine so the students get settled quickly when they arrive. Another emphasis is getting the students to talk when they are working on math.
“As you enter the classrooms you will hear them talking about the math, talking about their thinking,” she said.
One new program that the district will try out is student profile checklists. With parental permission, preschool providers will fill out the checklists with their assessments of each incoming kindergarten student.
The checklist has attributes under the categories of social/emotional, academics, motor skills, and attention and behavior. Each item is answered with either a “yes” or a “no,” though there is space for comments.
These will be given to the district to help group students and to help teachers be more effective, Graham said.
Megan Kellogg, a preschool teacher at Seven Fields KinderCare, said she was impressed with the kindergarten lesson she saw in Nancy Speicher's classroom at Haine.
Students built small ramps out of K'NEX toys and were rolling a ball down the ramps to learn a lesson in physics.
“It's a really good first step toward a communication that is much needed,” Kellogg said about the summit.
