Begindergarten gets revamped for new school year

WORLAND — Next year, Washakie County School District No. 1 will be “doing begindergarten different and better,” according to Superintendent David Nicholas.

Nicholas reported to the board during Monday’s regular meeting that Special Education Director Kim Sanford, East Side Principal Chris Peterson and South Side Principal Ken Dietz have been meeting on how to transform begindergarten. He said begindergarten began for those students not quite ready for kindergarten.

In a story in the Northern Wyoming Daily News in 2016, begindergarten teacher Lori Michaels explained begindergarten as being for school-age students who aren’t quite ready for kindergarten for a variety of reasons. There are many things that a child should know and be able to do before starting kindergarten to make the experience enjoyable and begindergarten covers those things.

Knowing colors is something that they should already know. Recognizing and writing their name, is something they should know how to do when they enter

kindergarten. Tracing and using scissors. Social skills such as taking turns, listening, keeping hands and feet to themselves and following directions, Michaels explained in the 2016 article.

Sanford told the board Monday night that graduation rates are always at the forefront of early intervention. She said their thought process in looking to change begindergarten was “the earlier we start putting kids on the right path, the better they are going to do.”

She said by third grade the district can identify students who will struggle and who might drop out of school.

“We need to put some more emphasis at the lower grades and even for special education, if we can fill those gaps at an earlier age, perhaps we won’t be seeing the referrals or students who need the intensive services,” Sanford said.

Sanford said the supportive kindergarten classroom will not be a parental choice but rather students would need to meet criteria through screenings and parent interview. She said for parents who have already asked about signing up their child for begindergarten next year the district will have one-on-one conversations with them about the supportive kindergarten classroom.

Rather than having begindergarten as a separate class with a separate curriculum from kindergarten, under the supportive kindergarten class there would be kindergarten curriculum for everyone, those in the regular kindergarten classes and those students in the supportive kindergarten program.

“Another piece that we’ve identified at the kindergarten level is not only do our students come in at different levels, but our parents also come in at different levels,” Sanford said.

Under the new supportive kindergarten program there will be continuing services that give the students and parents the needs at their levels.

“On the parent homefront, we are thinking we are going to meet their needs in terms of having different parenting classes for the kindergarten section,” Sanford said. She said they would also schedule times for the parents to come into the classroom to learn how to help their child with reading or math, or “help promote a positive self-esteem within the working environment in the classroom.”

“Beyond that, with parents, if they are in need of help with other things within the community, we’re going to involve our parent liaison and help them make connections to the right organizations or different companies that can help them,” Sanford said.

For the students, she said in addition to helping them meet their academic needs they would also help them meet other needs. “We need them to feel safe at school. We need them to feel connected. We need to work on executive skills, work on social and emotional skills and behavioral skills,” she said.

Sanford added, “If we can support all those, with parents learning alongside them, we feel we will have a better option in kindergarten.”

The supportive kindergarten class will have a general education instructor, special education instructor and paraprofessional in the classroom.

OTHER BUSINESS

In other business Monday:

The board offer contracts to initial-contract teachers (before becoming continuing-contract teachers) Rebecca Draus, Amy Reid, Julie Newell, Jennifer Horath, Emma Christofferson, Courtney Burky, Zach Lepka, Amber Bennett, Shelley Bailey, Jeff Lang, Angela Richardson, Frank Harding, Casey Lewis, Jonah Baker, Ben Hofmann, Brenna Abel and Shawn Ivie.

•Approved a request to have a teacher trained as a Reading Recovery teacher leader. Currently Reading Recovery teachers go to Sheridan for training. Worland would becoming a training site. It will be a two-year process, according to Curriculum Director Jody Rakness. Rakness said the district requires Reading Recovery teachers to give the district a five-year commitment. They would provide some other requirements for the teacher leader training to prohibit someone from leaving as soon as they are trained.

•The board accepted the resignation of Worland Middle School teacher Diane Davis and the resignation for retirement of transportation director Brad Feather.

•The board approved costs for the public records request of $1 for the first page and 50 cents for each page after with an electronic hourly charge of $75 with a two-hour minimum. Payment must be received first.

Business Manager Jack Stott said these charges are for Freedom of Information Act requests or large research requests, such as they had recently asking for all of 2017 records.

•A special board meeting was set for noon on Tuesday to approve a bid for the high school sewer line.