Full-Day Kindergarten Programs At 8 CPSD Schools to Start Year Differently

Although the 2012-13 school year kicks off Sept. 5 in the Clover Park School District, kindergarteners in the district’s eight state-funded all-day programs will have a non-traditional start.

That means that for the first eight days of the school year (Sept. 5-7 and 10-14), students in the all-day kindergarten programs at , , , , Oakwood, , and Elementary Schools will be released at 11:30 a.m.

CPSD is participating in the WaKIDS program, a kindergarten entry process that includes three components: building family connections, assessing developmental levels and collaborating with early learning providers.

“It will be a big change,” said Jim Paxinos, assistant superintendent for elementary schools. “This year, the schools will be doing individual family connection meetings – one-on-one meetings with the teacher – at the beginning of the year.”

Before the first day of school, kindergarten teachers at the participating schools – or another school employee – will call parents to arrange a 30-minute conference, which provides the opportunity for parents and teachers to discuss individual students’ backgrounds, learning style and needs.

“(The teachers) get to know the student and parents more on a personal level,” Paxinos said. “It’s the first time they have been in a public-school setting.”

Each student will fill out an “Introducing Me” book, which will be given to their teacher. Questions in the book range from what languages are spoken in the home and who lives there to favorite toys and how a child reacts when they are happy, sad or angry.

However, the WaKIDS assessment will not be used to decide if a child can enter kindergarten. Instead, it is designed to provide a statewide snapshot of where children in Washington are in their development at the start of kindergarten. This, in turn, will help inform state-level decisions about education policy and investments.

“We are fortunate that we are able to offer state funded, full-day kindergarten at eight schools,” Paxinos said.

The 2011 Legislature passed Senate Bill 5427, which made WaKIDS optional for state-funded full-day kindergarten programs in the 2011-12 school year and mandatory starting in 2012-13. Other schools have the option of participating. The program receives private funding support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Thrive by Five Washington.

For more information, visit www.k12.wa.us/WaKIDS/Parents or contact your school’s principal.

Idewild Elementary School's tuition based full-day kindergarten is not participating in WaKIDS. Check back with Patch tomorrow as we look at that program and its early success.