Partner Barbara Francis shares her experience at Mill Park Elementary
On August 6th I had the great pleasure of visiting Mill Park Elementary School to see one of the demonstration site Early Kindergarten Transition Programs (EKT) in action. Mill Park is in David Douglas School District and has a 91% poverty rate and 27 languages spoken in the homes of their students. It is a school where most of the students are at risk of failing.
Bryant Royal, the SUN site coordinator, led our tour and discussion group. He impressed me with his knowledge, passion and relationships with the children, staff and many of the parents. Bryant forges connections to offer students and families the resources they need to be successful (such as educational support, food, rental or housing assistance, parenting programs and more). Even though the two classes we visited were only in day three of the two-week session, he already knew a great deal about each child and their families.I was also impressed with the new principal, Bob Stelle, who is so excited to be there and has a background that fits the demographics of the school. Bob told us a bit about his upbringing and having lived with his family camping for several years. He was the first in his family to attend and graduate from college. He and Bryant both exuded understanding and passion for their jobs. They are dedicated to helping all children dream big. The EKT teachers had a wonderful mix of kindness, patience, inspiration and effective teaching skills.
Now to the children, they were thrilled to be in school and learning quickly. As a former teacher I was amazed that this was only day three for the students. Already they were following directions, sharing, engaged and oh so happy. We had time to observe and help with the mid morning snack. There were many please and thank yous given. The students seemed happy to have visitors and it was a treat to interact with them. We observed one mother sitting in the hall during the morning session. Apparently her son had a few behavioral problems during the first few days and she was there to support him and the teachers. I was touched by her concern for her child to get off on the right foot. I also had the chance to visit with several parents during lunchtime and the feedback I heard was incredibly positive and they were very appreciative of the program. They were thrilled that their children were off to such a great start and enjoying school so much.
Much is being done to inform the parents of the importance of kindergarten, especially encouraging attendance, which is a huge problem. We learned that often there just isn't a clear understanding of how important consistent attendance is. They are offering instruction to parents on things like how to read to your child and parents are sent home with books for their children. They provide interpreters at each parent meeting.The morning proved to me that the work of the Ready For Kindergarten campaign is needed and on track! I am excited to see the program expand and grow. I am proud of SVP and the many roles it has played in the movement thus far. It was heartwarming to hear over and over from the staff that they could not do their good work without SVP and others behind them.
About EKT: The Early Kindergarten Transition Program is a 2-3 week free summer program for children and their parents/caregivers entering kindergarten in the fall. Students meet teachers, make new friends, and get familiar with kindergarten skills, routines, and expectations. Parents/caregivers participate in group engagement and activities to learn about kindergarten and the school, ways to support learning at home, and meet school staff and fellow parents. SVP has been helping to scale this effective program to more high-need schools in recent years and seven of the eight demonstration site schools were able to offer EKT this summer.