Irving School pre-K program facing choices, challenges
Expanded hours come with a price tag
Curriculum also retooled for autumn
Liz Estes
for The Mirror

Today’s public school pre-kindergarten follows a tight schedule for its brief daily session. Kids get a mere 15 or so minutes to explore toys and learning tools in the wonderfully stocked classrooms, with teacher-led activities structured in the rest of the 2-¼ hour pre-K. While the children begin to learn how to read, write, and listen, a lot of emphasis is put on sitting quietly, waiting for friends to settle down, and performing requested tasks. Naturally, some kids have an easier time than others.

Nancy Romano, principal of Irving Primary School, is launching a new, full-day pre-Kindergarten program this fall, she announced to parents on May 15. “Our new, full-day program will have an entirely different curriculum and focus from our current half-day program,” with the aim of redesigning education for four-year olds in Highland Park, the veteran early childhood educator said.

The new program Nancy Romano is championing stretches more leisurely over a 6-½ hour day and uses the “Creative Curriculum” teaching tool to change its focus. The Creative Curriculum is research-tested, Romano said, and founded on the work of early childhood experts including Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson and Vygotsky.

Understanding how young children develop and learn is the basis for everyday planning. The daily schedule includes active and quiet times, large and small group activities, indoor and outdoor playtimes, free-choice activity times, as well as teacher-directed lessons. Ms. Romano has visited New Brunswick and Perth Amboy, two other districts where the curriculum is used effectively.

Learning areas bring flexibility

The new classrooms will look different. The physical space will be organized into 10 learning areas geared to the 4-year-old’s exploration. These areas include: blocks, dramatic play, toys and games, art, library, discovery, sand/water, music/movement, cooking, and computers. The separate areas encourage children to learn academic skills in developmentally appropriate ways.

“Choice Time” will be a major component when children choose the area they want to explore. Each child can approach the areas in his or her own way: the goal is to flexibly accommodate multiple intelligences, learning styles, and abilities. Children who need special education are accommodated in the classroom.

Teachers will engage with kids while they are playing, Romano said. The principal described how children in a class she visited — only one of who had even been on an airplane — arranged chairs in a row to set up their own plane. They role-played as pilots, attendants, passengers. After the pilot spoke, the passengers swayed in their seats!

Meeting times are spent interviewing students about their experiences during choice time and reinforcing core lessons.

And what about all that choice? Do things get chaotic? The people at Teaching Strategies say research shows that when children are actively involved in activities they choose and that have meaning to them, behavior problems diminish. By keeping the environment organized and letting children know that every action has a logical consequence, children develop self-discipline and learn to manage their conflicts in a constructive way.

Choices for parents as well

The year 2008-9 will be a transitional one, and pre-K parents will have a choice. The new, full-day program will run alongside the current half-day program, with the full-day program free for residents who qualify, and the half-day program still free for everyone.

The state now requires towns to provide a full day for pre-kindergartners who are “at risk”— that is, who need special education or qualify for free and reduced lunch. (In Highland Park, this is a sizeable group; roughly one-third of our school families qualified for the lunch subsidy.) While the state has always paid for the at-risk children to attend pre-K, our Board of Education has used the local schools budget to extend this program to all families. But the current budget crisis puts that in jeopardy. 2009 could be the last year for the free, half-day Pre-K.

Families who don’t qualify for the state-mandated “at-risk” population can still enroll in the new, full-time pre-K by paying tuition of $600 per month. While this is less than most area schools for comparable hours, the price is still steep for many one-income families with a parent at home.

The current half-day Pre-K has always been a mixed blessing: it’s perfect for families who have someone at home, but the short hours essentially exclude most kids whose parents work. If trends continue, families who benefited in the past will lose out. But others—those with working parents, low-income families, and those whose children need special ed. services—do stand to benefit significantly from the structure changes.

The pre-K program accommodates 90 children. Families are signing up for both half-day and full-day programs now for 2008-9. To register, call for an appointment 732-572-1205.