TRANSITIONING TO KINDERGARTEN

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TRANSITIONING TO KINDERGARTEN

• In the Greenwich Public Schools

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Preschool Children to Kindergarten

• The Greenwich Public Schools have the pleasure of
  welcoming preschool children into kindergarten
  from a wide variety of private and public
  preschool programs.
• Approximately 7 of the incoming children have
  not had a preschool experience
• Some of these children have been offered at home
  programs by parents
• Others have recently moved from South American
  countries where preschool opportunities were not
  available
• Some children come to Greenwich and find the Head
  Start Program at capacity and no other affordable
  programs for their children

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Incoming Kindergarteners

• In Greenwich, the names of potential kindergarten
  children come to the BOE from the preschools
• Each of the 11 elementary schools sets up its own
  orientation program

• Information is shared in the newspaper and on the
  local radio station
• The focus of the hour orientation is for the
  school to give an overview of what a day and year
  in Kindergarten looks like with either a video or
  slide presentation

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Registration

• Registration packets are given to parents and
  parents make an appointment to return with
  documentation and completed forms
• The traditional forms are in each packet
• Parents are also asked to complete a
  questionnaire to be reviewed by mental health
  staff in the building and in some buildings, the
  parent will indicate whether they wish to speak
  with the mental health service provider
• Spanish translation is available
• In the Title I buildings, the mental health
  service provider is one of the stations the
  parent goes through as part of registration
• Each parent is given a parent/child interactive
  booklet providing an opportunity for the parent
  to assess the childs readiness
• The parent is given a childrens book about
  Kindergarten as a welcoming gift for the child

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Social Workers Role

• One Title I School uses their social worker to
  review information about incoming children and
  families
• Children who have not had preschool, are coming
  from Head Start, are not native English speakers,
  live in public housing or seem to he particularly
  challenged, based on what the family has shared,
  are identified
• These families are offered a home visit set up by
  the social worker who accompanies the
  Kindergarten teacher and an interpreter, if
  needed
• The parent and the social worker usually talk and
  the teacher spends time with the child who is
  given a Welcome Box
• All the other families are offered a home visit
  that takes place over the summer and the same
  Welcome Box is given
• Other Title I Schools invite the children in for
  a special visit and present the children with a
  Welcome Box

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The Process Continues

• In late May, the District sets aside an afternoon
  when all incoming Kindergarten children come to
  their school for a one hour visit
• The children play, color, listen to a story, have
  their picture taken and leave with a special
  ribbon. They are observed by the teachers,
  Speech Therapist and School Psychologist
• The children not only take home their ribbon but
  alittle booklet with pictures of the principal
  and the kindergartenteachers.
• The parents spend the time with the principal and
  the social worker and talk about the nuts and
  bolts of Kindergarten
• Balanced classes using information from the
  parent form, the kindergarten teacher preschool
  visits and the data sent from the preschool are
  created
• Based on the first set of about 20 home visits
  and second home visit is offered
• On this visit, the principal and social worker
  welcome the family and bring a gift of either
  magnetic letters or an Alphabet Bingo Game

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In the Coming Months

• In August, the PTAs invite families to Welcome
  Picnic in the school playground
• Each month during the kindergarten year, the
  children bring home to their parents in their
  Friday folders a yellow information sheet
  relating to K, which the parents can keep in the
  yellow folder that was provided in September
• Currently, parents, through a questionnaire, are
  asked about their experiences in helping prepare
  their child for kindergarten

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