From Camp to Classroom: Me & My School Enhances Kindergarten Readiness
Posted on August 30, 2024 in
Education
As summer winds down and we head into fall, Covington Partners has been busy gearing up for another academic school year.
The start of the year evokes a range of emotions; excitement, inspiration, wonder, and sometimes, a bit of anxiety. This, perhaps, is most true for some of our youngest students entering kindergarten. It is not uncommon for students beginning school for the first time to feel apprehensive about a new routine, new building, and new faces.
To help prepare our students for kindergarten, Covington has provided the Me and My School (MMS) transition program as a part of Camp Covington (summer program) since 2014.
Supported by United Way of Greater Cincinnati Success by 6, Me and My School provides students the tools needed to successfully transition into kindergarten. Programming includes projects and activities centered on all developmental areas—cognitive, social and emotional, and motor skills.
With certified teachers and classified staff leading MMS at each site, the five-week program works to support students’ approaches to learning, engage families, and promote school readiness. Perhaps one of the most meaningful aspects of MMS are the parent engagement opportunities. Each family receives a backpack which contains a family tool kit designed specifically to help families support learning at home and increase family engagement in the transition and learning process.
Each site also offers a school-wide family engagement event for the parents of participants in the MMS program. This summer at Ninth District Elementary School, the MMS class invited families to attend a shared reading of The Princess and the Pea - La Princesa Y El Guisante, a bilingual (English/Spanish) fairy tale. The students worked with their teachers and family members to create an art project that complemented the story.
United Way has collected data on the readiness scores of students attending MMS programs across Greater Cincinnati. An analysis of the data over six years shows that an average of 8% more children scored “ready for school” on the Brigance Kindergarten Screener when compared to children who did not attend MMS. The same results are true in Covington, with some schools outpacing the average readiness score.
One of the elements to success is the model of having a certified kindergarten teacher and instructional assistant familiar with the school and students working the program. The data, feedback, and observations from summer staff working MMS have also demonstrated the impact of the program.
Ms. Gibson, kindergarten teacher at Ninth District Elementary School, has worked MMS for four years and continues to talk about how helpful it is for incoming students. “We had a student who came into the summer program never being in school; he did not know his name, how to hold a pencil, or how to even sit in a chair at a table. Over the course of the program, he grew so much! When we administered his post test, he was able to state his name, write his name, identify 14 letters, count to 15, and identify the shapes on the assessment.”
Aside from the academic growth, the exposure to school day routines and field trips support students’ social and emotional growth while providing them with new possibilities and learning experiences.
The MMS class at Sixth District Elementary School visited the Cincinnati Museum Center, an experience kindergarten teacher Ms. Lesley found to be very beneficial for the students. “The trip to the Museum Center was great. Seeing the look on the faces of the students was priceless. They were able to see a show in the OMNIMAX. One little boy was so amazed, he asked me questions and pointed things out to me the entire time.”
Being able to awaken that wonder and amazement in students is one of the most rewarding parts of the job. The MMS program has provided families, students, and school day staff with years of learning opportunities, relationship building, and a confidence that students will be kindergarten ready on the first day of school.