Parents in Dent County have another option when it comes to kindergarten at William Lynch Elementary School. The new, transitional kindergarten class is now offered at as an alternate class to help students be prepared to advance to kindergarten.
“The goal of this program is to be an intervention class; it is to be kind of a class that closes the gap between preschool and kindergarten,” said Lauren Prugh, the transitional kindergarten teacher. “A lot of kids that come into this room either have never been to preschool, or have a late birthday, or just don’t have the skills that a kindergartener would have entering.”
In the state of Missouri, schools don’t require preschool or kindergarten, but there has been an increase seen at William Lynch of children enrolling in these programs.
When talking about those requirements, Prugh discussed that some of the students in Missouri that don’t go to preschool or kindergarten don’t “have the same color and letter recognition, or in some cases their own names.”
“We are kind of gifting the kids with time, and it’s just something that we hope will help them in the years to come,” said Prugh. “Being an intervention class, giving them those skills that they do need so that they’re successful in kindergarten and first grade and throughout their education.”
The idea came about when William Lynch Elementary School Principal Kriste Crocker envisioned the idea that they were needing something more than just pulling students for an intervention class 20 minutes a day. She saw the need for it to be an all-day class, and continued from there with talking to the school board about her ideas.
Being the first year, Prugh said there are some learning curves with it, since the program is being created from the ground up. There have been some trials and errors, but the goal is always going to be the same: that the kids come out with a positive learning experience.
“We want to make it a positive environment, rather than going into kindergarten and struggling and not liking school,” explained Prugh. “We want them to love school and have a positive start here.”
Before working at William Lynch, Prugh taught first grade in Oklahoma City for three years, and then taught kindergarten in Oklahoma for three years. Her husband, Conrad, is the boys basketball coach at Salem High School. Upon moving to Salem, she took two years off and started substitute teaching. Now that her children are in school full-time, she wanted to return to teaching and Crocker told her about the new program.
“I was really excited about it,” said Prugh. “I think it is an amazing thing, and an amazing need for the community. I have 11 five-year-olds in class right now, so it is a lot smaller than some of the other kindergarten classes, which allows for more one-on-one and smaller groups.”
The days for the transitional kindergarteners consists of coming in and having free play, then a lot of hands-on work. Prugh explained that they didn’t want to use a lot of paper, or pencils, but instead did more hands-on work and just play in general, because it was a vital part of them growing.
In its first year, Prugh hopes that the parents can learn more of what the program is and what it offers. She said she hopes they see that the goal is to help the child and bring something positive. At open house, Prugh said she showed parents how she would be introducing letters, using a program that hits every type of learner, from visual learners, to auditory, to kinesthetic. She also shared how students would learn about handwriting, starting out with basic knowledge of lines in a hands-on lesson.
“Something I want to start doing in this program are home visits,” Prugh said of the developing program. “I want to go to the homes of the kids, and meet with the parents one-on-one in their own environment. And hopefully build a relationship the families and give them a positive outlook on education; to be there to help them with the tools to educate at home.”
In the state of California, it is required that children attend a transitional kindergarten, but not in Missouri. The program is gaining in popularity across the nation because of the positive results being seen.
“It is our hope that the Bridges program will allow our students the opportunity to have a positive and productive first year of school, and give them the time and success they need to grow academically and socially,” said Crocker. “We look forward to seeing each of them learn and develop at their own pace. Mrs. Prugh has done a fantastic job of building a program to meet the needs of this group of students, and I believe they will benefit from it for their entire educational careers.”
Prugh does anticipate more students next year, but she still hopes that the class remains smaller for more time with each student.
For more information about the Bridges Program, contact Kriste Crocker or Lauren Prugh at William Lynch Elementary at 573-729-6611, or email Crocker at kriste.crocker@salemr80.org. The transitional kindergarten is located next to the other kindergarten classes on the top floor of William Lynch, 101 North Main Street, Salem.
