Proposed kindergarten orientation to cut out home visits

The staff at Elm Hill Primary School have proposed changes to the kindergarten orientation schedule for next year that would cut out home visits.

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2016-02-02 / Front Page Proposed kindergarten orientation to cut out home visits By Nancy A. Cavanaugh ncavanaugh@eagletimes.com SPRINGFIELD — In an attempt to gain three more days of education time, reduce confusion and get better information about incoming kindergarten students, the staff at Elm Hill Primary School have proposed changes to the kindergarten orientation schedule for next year that would cut out home visits. Currently, children register for school in May. This includes doing screenings for occupational therapy, speech, hearing and vision. At the same time, they meet their teacher and school nurse for the upcoming school year as well as turn in paperwork. In August and September, the teachers conduct home visits. There is an orientation for students and parents, and students take part in an A/B schedule for six days in which students attend for a half day, every other day. The proposal would be to keep the registration in May as before with the student meeting their teacher and the school nurse and turning in paperwork, then have screenings take place during three half-days in August before the other students are in school. “We’re calling it Kinder Camp. There would be the orientation for the students and parents then two half-days for helping the students get acquainted with the school before the other students arrive,” said kindergarten teacher Andie Bentley. “And we would no longer do the home visits. We would also like to be able to provide transportation, as it can be difficult for some parents to get their students to school.” Principal Dana Jacobson-Goodhue identified several problems with the current system, starting with the home visits. “We have three full days of home visits. There are studies that show there are a lot of value to doing them, but it can be an inconvenience for parents who have to work to take the time off to have the teacher come into their home, and it is not always comfortable,” she said. “There is also the chance of bias that can cause the teacher to create a ceiling for the child’s potential. “Home visits are very useful in preschool when the student is only there for 10 hours a week, as they’re getting a lot of their education from home,” Jacobson-Goodhue continued. “We have them for seven hours during their peak learning time. The home visit doesn’t tell us how they’re going to do in school.” Another problem area is the A/B schedule. “Half the students come in on one day, and the other half the next day on an alternating days pattern for six days,” said Jacobson-Goodhue. “It is very difficult for the kids to get used to the building and it cause confusion for the students.” According to Jacobson-Goodhue, the A/B schedule can also cause issues for parents who have to get child care for the days the student isn’t in school during the A/B schedule period. It also results in the kindergarten students having three less days of educational time. The third issue is with how much time there is between when the student has the screening and when they start school. Bellows Falls and Chester offer similar orientations to the 'Kinder Camp,' minus the transportation for their kindergarten programs, according to Rebecca Spaulding, a guidance counselor at the school. “Because they don’t offer transportation, not all students go to the orientation,” said Spaulding. “They said you can tell who went through the orientation and who didn’t.” Jacobson-Goodhue added that the transportation part of it wouldn’t be a deal breaker. Superintendent Zach McLaughlin said there were disadvantages and advantages to both orientation programs. “You’d be moving away from home visits,” he said. “We need to look to see what we can do.” The staff and superintendent will be working on the proposal and will ask for approval by the school board at a later time.