Summer Program

Last year, my school began a kindergarten summer program. The program was designed to introduce our new students to school and give them a "jump" start. At the end of the school year we invited our future kindergarten students in to let them participate in a fun activity in a kindergarten classroom. During this time we screened these students. The screenings gave us an idea for how prepared the students were for school.

We used these screenings to reach out to students and parents for our summer program. This year we had 29 students signed up and 9 teachers teaching the program. This ratio is rare and it is very beneficial for our new students. We have found that this gets the nerves out and helps make friends before the first day of school.

Just from observations and conversations it seems like the program is successful. I would like to have data to support this though. I have thought about screening the kids again at the end of the program or at the beginning of the school to check for improvements. I feel like we are constantly testing students so I have avoided this, especially since they are kindergartners. Any ideas?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is it Safe to Stop Worrying about DeVos?

I'm not sure how many share the sentiment, but when Betsy DeVos was actually came into office I was #shook. Her inexperience, and comfort in her own ignorance made me think she would push to enforce an oversimplified, impractical, and hopelessly romantic one-step solution to the numerous, deep-rooted, and complex issues facing our educational system today. Luckily, it's looking like she might be all talk. Ideally, the Secretary of Education should improve the educational world for our teachers and students, at least a little. Not moving at all may be better than taking to many steps in the wrong direction, however. It has been six months, and Devos is still struggling to become fully staffed and slow to implement her school choice initiative. http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2017/07/25/what-has-betsy-devos-actually-done-after.html We'll continue to keep an eye out.
Read more

Afghan Robotics Team Makes it to the States

One of the results of president Trump's travel ban was the exclusion of an all girl robotics team from having the opportunity to compete in the United States. Although I understand the intention of the ban was to keep everyone safe, I am one of the many who believe in providing everyone with an opportunity to seek a better life, and especially a better education. This was a classic example of how the ban limits many with good intentions. While it may be safer to say no one can come to the United States, the overwhelming majority of people who will suffer are those seeking a better life, an opportunity, and education. I considered how hard these girls had worked, and what sacrifices they had to make to qualify for an international competition. It is a shame that so little discrecion or care was used in crafting the ban. Fortunately, these girls were able to come after getting their visas rejected twice and the "international outcry" that resulted from the injustice. ...
Read more

What Georgia Educators are Facing

Being an educator in Georgia is no easy feat. The Georgia Partnership for Education came up with 10 problems that the field of education is facing in Georgia. Of the issues specific to Georgia some stood out to me. Georgia has seen a trend of more and more teachers leaving the profession, and less and less teachers interested in joining the field of education. Districts have also been given more responsibility, and the demand for quality leadership has increased. Our high school graduates have not been soundly prepared for college (based on incompletion rates) and are ill-prepared for the workforce. Students in impoverished areas receive $1,200 less per student. Georgia also has about 10% of students with mental health issues that directly affect their school performance. http://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/georgia-top-education-issues-2017/EUiJGHsurmxSYeNuowylpK/ In my experience as a Georgia educator, I feel these are genuine concerns. Many of the problems that our school f...
Read more