Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/58727
Kids receive 'gift of time' in transitional kindergarten "Is there anything in your mouth that begins with the letter S?" Lisl Christie asks students sitting before her in circle time. "Slobber," yells one youngster enthusi- astically. "Spit!" yells another. The teacher smiles and makes it a teachable moment. "The usual name that grownups use is saliva," says Christie. "Can you say sal-i-va?" Playtime follows the phonics lesson, and students stack blocks, put puzzles together or work with Play-Doh — activi- ties there is seldom time for in today's kindergarten. But these students are enrolled in a "transitional kindergarten" (TK) program at San Miguel Elementary School in Santa Rosa called KinderStart, designed for those too young or immature for regular kindergarten. The Mark West Union School District enrolls students from throughout Sonoma County in Christie's class. Research shows that TK improves children's social and academic development and provides a significant boost to their test scores, especially for children from low-income families, says Catherine Akin, president of Preschool Cali- fornia. She observes that children who participate in school readiness programs like TK are also more likely to attend college and earn higher wages. "Transitional kindergarten is very similar to what old-fash- ioned kindergarten used to be like," says Christie, a mem- ber of the Mark West Faculty Association (MARFAC). "We teach phonemic Kassandra Jauregui Aguirre, Erika Mitchell and Meika Mitchell have time for play in Lisl Christie's classroom, unlike traditional kindergarten. garten. Everything is better when children are more mature. I decided: Why not give him that chance?" Teresa Davenport says she was also on the fence when it came to her child, Tamia, who met this year's kindergarten eligibility deadline by just one day, but opted for TK. "It was the best decision I ever made, and I highly recom- mend it," she says. Kaplan says the program gives her the flexibility to "delve" There is nothing like success to breed success, and here students can be successful. awareness and all of the pre- reading skills, but we don't take the jump into reading, because they aren't ready. They learn how to make friends, how to handle conflict, how to approach groups on the playground, and other skills that may be taught in regular kindergarten. We also have playtime three times a day." Christie thinks it's a good thing that her students are not being pushed beyond their limits or pressured. School, she says, is "fun" and "exciting" for them, and most do extremely well when they leave her class and enter regular kindergar- ten the following year. "We believe it has been wildly successful," says Elissa Kaplan, who has been teaching a TK class called Young Fives for six years at Greendell School in Palo Alto. "From what we hear, the kids do amazingly well when they leave here. We create leaders; they become confident." The program was started in Palo Alto because parents felt they needed something in between preschool and kindergar- ten, so the district came up with the Young Fives program for those not quite ready for kindergarten. Parents are required to participate in the classroom at least once a week. Like most TK programs, students are screened beforehand to make sure it's the best fit. "It was a hard decision," says Allison Blake, whose son, Tyras, is in the Young Fives. "He had several friends the same age, and I didn't want him to be separated from that group. But he was not ready to cope emotionally with kinder- ANSELMO FELICIANO into academics and repeat lessons, as needed, for youngsters. "We keep it energetic and fun," says the Palo Alto Teachers Association member. "We have a lot of outdoor playtime and games." Because Palo Alto's Young Fives program is only at one campus and students go off to different schools for regu- lar kindergarten, there is no stigma for those in a two- year program, says Kaplan. "I love it, because it gives my students the gift of time," says Anselmo Feliciano, who is teaching his first TK class this year at Burnett Elemen- tary School in Long Beach, after teaching regular kinder- garten for many years. "When students have a chance to mature, they don't feel pressured. They don't have a sense of failure. There is nothing like success to breed success, and here students can be successful." The Teachers Association of Long Beach member fondly recalls the days when kindergarten allowed time for finger painting, socialization and fun. Nowadays, he says, it offers "rigorous" curriculum, and students are expected to reach the level where they will be able to write three sentences, read books and know numbers up to 100. He was very excited over plans to have TK fully implemented throughout the district, until the governor proposed making the program voluntary. On Feb. 7, the Long Beach Unified School District superintendent led community educators, parents, grand- parents, business and civic leaders in a rally opposing Gov. Brown's budget proposal regarding TK. "Many of my students may be eligible for regular kinder- garten, but they aren't ready," says Feliciano. "Without this class they'd be on retention 'watch lists,' or we'd be looking at interventions. This way they will be leaders by the time they reach kindergarten — and then become strong first-graders." March 2012 / www.cta.org 13