Having children kindergarten ready – “prepared across the five critical domains: social/emotional, physical health and well-being, cognitive, communication and adaptive learning” – is an integral part of the countywide Moonshot Moment goal of reaching 90 percent literacy by third grade. One major tool in that arsenal is STEP into Kindergarten (Summer Transition Enrichment Program), a community partnership funded through the Education Foundation of Indian River County and implemented by the School District of Indian River County.
STEP into Kindergarten began with just 45 students in June 2013 and has since expanded into a six-week June and July program with 177 children this past summer.
The program targets students entering kindergarten in the district’s nine Title 1 schools which have a high percentage of children from low income families: Citrus, Dodgertown, Glendale, Fellsmere, Indian River Academy, Pelican Island, Sebastian, Treasure Coast and Vero Beach Elementary.
“If you’re not preparing children early, then how do you expect them to be successful later on? The idea is that by investing early you’re not spending money remediating later on,” says Education Foundation Executive Director Cynthia Falardeau. “Our board felt this was a way that we could support the district in that goal.”
The John’s Island Community Service League granted the program its initial funding, spearheaded in the effort by Hope Woodhouse, who serves on the JICSL board and is on the Children’s Services Advisory and Kindergarten Readiness Collaborative.
“But, and this was critical, they also stood up in front of other funders and said you need to invest in this program. This is delivering results; this is really where you can make an impact. It’s almost like they endorsed it, which enabled us to gain the attention of United Way,” Falardeau explains, referencing the receipt of funding through a new United Way Community Impact Grants initiative.
The project has also received funding from the county’s Children’s Services Advisory Committee, the Indian River Community Foundation and other community partners. The Education Foundation coordinates with school district administrators to formulate and present grants and then provides oversight.
“In a sense we’re like the Community Foundation for the school district,” says Falardeau. “The powerful message is that the community is really investing in this and sees its value. Our mission is to increase the community’s investment in our schools. In this way, it brings new donors and donor groups into our schools.”
STEP into Kindergarten students are those who have completed Voluntary Pre-K (VPK) but who might need more time to become kindergarten ready.
Karen Malits, Title 1 district administrator, explains that every family in Florida, regardless of income, is eligible for free Voluntary Pre-K for children entering kindergarten the following year.
“The important thing is this is not VPK. These students have completed that,” says Malits, adding, “We had students from many, many providers around the county.”
“At the end of the day, all those children come together and they sometimes have varying strengths and preparedness,” adds Falardeau. “One of the most valuable points of this project is that it helps prepare children for that social, emotional, behavioral component. Just because a child knows their beginning sounds doesn’t mean that they can attend a task, that they can follow directions, that they can transition, share or cooperate with other students: typical areas needed to function well in a school setting.”
They stress the importance of children entering kindergarten knowing exactly what to expect and how to behave, so that the entire focus can be on learning.
“So there has to be a private or outside funder and that’s where the Education Foundation comes in. We are leveraging and accessing dollars the district wouldn’t otherwise have access to,” says Falardeau.
She adds that a consortium of Florida education foundations is now looking to replicate outstanding programs such as this one, to be featured in a grant to the Kellogg Foundation.
“That would give us funding for our program and it would give other counties a chance to replicate what has been successful. This isn’t happening elsewhere. There is VPK everywhere but there is not a summer extension program, a Kindergarten Readiness program like this that we are aware of anywhere else in the state,” says Falardeau.
They are encouraged by the student improvements they’ve seen. Children meet one-on-one with the teachers to determine developmentally appropriate baseline data, assessing students academically and observing the social, emotional and behavioral components; basing the academic and behavioral checks on the district’s kindergarten report card.
“Our goal in choosing the assessments was to bridge the 4-year-old standards that they were expected to know at the end of VPK with what we would like to have them ready to begin when they enter kindergarten,” explains Krista Sadlers, district Title 1 teacher and lead teacher for STEP into Kindergarten.
“We utilize evidenced-based curriculum facilitated by our school district teachers, many of which are kindergarten teachers, and we also have highly qualified teacher assistants,” adds Malits.
“Right now we believe, based on the community needs assessment, that we’re serving almost 20 percent of incoming kindergarteners to schools within our county,” says Falardeau. “Ideally we want to continue to grow that, but it I think it comes down to funding.”
“It’s almost like we’re starting up a whole new school year in the summer. We plan lessons, we have transportation for students, we’re hiring teachers. It just depends on funding and how we can grow the program,” agrees Malits, noting that ideally they would like to add a program coordinator.
Comments from principals, teachers and parents alike have all been positive.
“Every week literature or books were sent home to parents to make sure that we were really making the connection between school and home and really establishing the school and family partnership,” says Malits, referencing the interactive workbooks, parental guides and other information sent home with the children.
“Based on what you shared, it’s going to increase the momentum for next year because people have said, wow – this is really worthwhile,” agrees Falardeau.
“If we have strong, vibrant schools, that’s really an indicator of the success of our community. I think it’s exciting that people want to buy into that and be a part of it. We have tremendous community support, but there are still so many more children that we could reach.”
