Students in pre-k outperform peers

OXFORD — Children who begin their schooling at age three or four do better than students who come into kindergarten cold, according to a presentation from SAD 17 administrators that reported on early results from the district's pre-kindergarten program.

"Of all the interventions we do, this is, I think, the most valuable one," said Principal Jane Fahey, of the Paris Elementary School.

Approximately 100 pre-k students from seven of the district's eight elementary schools attend classes at sites in Oxford, Paris, Waterford, and Guy. E. Rowe Elementary Schools.

Half of the slots in the pre-k program are filled by lottery, from a pool of students who qualify under the Head Start program. The remaining slots are filled by a lottery that includes all students, including those Head Start qualifiers who did not get selected in the first lottery.

Curriculum Director Kathy Elkins said that the program does best with a mix of young students from different backgrounds. Having students of varying abilities allow the better-prepared students to have a positive impact on the less-well-prepared students.

"What we see is our program does make a difference," said Fahey, noting that the district's pre-k program has a natural alignment with the K-12 education that will come after. "I could not be prouder of any program."

At Oxford Elementary School, three-year-olds are driven to school by their parents, but some four-year-olds take the bus. Principal Kim Ramharter reports that the older children enjoy the responsibility of looking out for their younger schoolmates.

Advantages

Students in the program do better academically and socially than their counterparts, and also lay a stronger foundation for future schooling, said administrators.

The advantage shows up in testing. While students are too young to take heavy-duty exams, their abilities in various categories are measured.

Among students who had attended pre-k classes, for example, 100 percent could identify every letter in the alphabet.

They also outperformed their peers in math skills, such as number sense, measurement, and recognizing patterns that will be of use in algebra.

There were areas in which the pool of pre-k students performed less well than their counterparts, such as rhyming ability.

Fahey said that one possible explanation was that the program had not stressed that particular ability this time around.

Overall, administrators gave the program glowing reviews.

Students who enter the classroom at such an early age are given the chance to work out the kinks of the strange new environment. They learn to get along with their peers, follow the direction of adults, and abide by a structured routine that includes educational activities as well as lunch and recess times.

"Social interaction is huge," said Guy E. Rowe Elementary School Principal George Sincerbeaux. "There's only one or two in pre-k not ready for kindergarten. That to me, is the most important part of the whole program."

Ramharter said that another advantage is the ability to build an early partnership with parents that can be used for the student's benefit in later years.

Sincerbeaux joked that the only problem he has with the program is sore knees, a result of head-on-knee collisions that come with enthusiastic hugs from the youngsters.

Funding

"At some point, when the economy gets better, we'll be back asking to expand this program," said Elkins.

The program's successes make the single biggest challenge — a lack of adequate funding — all the more frustrating.

"We have more four-year-olds than we can actually serve," said Elkins. "There's an over-subscription at Oxford, Rowe, and Paris. We're not serving Harrison at all right now."

Administrators said that they were "investigating" the possibility of altering the program so that Harrison pre-k students could be included with Waterford.