The Charles County Board of Education on Monday heard recommendations from a pre-K curriculum committee, giving a glimpse into what the future of early childhood education in the county will look like.
The committee, headed by Beth Sorsby, an early childhood specialist, chose to recommend the “Frog Street Threes Curriculum,” which includes nine thematic units that each span four weeks, be used for the pre-K program for 3-year-old students.
Members of the committee include specialists in childhood instruction, content specialists for reading and math, an elementary school principal, technology representatives and other qualified individuals, according to a presentation given to the school board on Feb. 26.
According to Kevin Lowndes, the chief of teaching and learning, the curriculum was reviewed by a previous 3-year-old pre-K program teacher and school nurse.
Frog Street Threes is advertised as “comprehensive” in that it covers all domains of learning and uses early brain development research as the framework for intentional, age-appropriate instruction, according to the presentation.
The curriculum sets the goals of offering strong daily routines that develop key social and emotional skills, balancing intentional instruction with child-directed play and including adaptations for students with special needs and multilingual learners.
Sorsby highlighted the advantages of the new curriculum, saying that it is easy to implement for teachers and that it includes whole-group instruction, small-group instruction and practice centers.
Explaining why the committee chose Frog Street Threes, Sorsby said that it provides resources for building strong family partnerships, exposure and practice opportunities for phonological awareness, and it aligns with Maryland Early Learning Standards.
School board member Samichie Thomas questioned how technology would be a component of the curriculum, seeking to find a good balance between digital and hands-on learning.
“There wasn’t a lot of a technology component for student use,” Sorsby said. “Mostly just because of screen time being limited at that age level, and we really want there to be a lot of hands-on learning with manipulatives.”
Nicole Kreamer, vice-chair of the board, questioned how parents will learn about the new curriculum.
“We have a link for the parents to look at,” Lowndes said. He informed the board that the Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building will have resources for parents who want to see examples in person.
School board member Dottery Butler-Washington questioned if the curriculum would contain a language component for all students, as they are at a critical age for developing linguistic skills.
Superintendent Maria Navarro said that there is a staffing issue in finding teachers nationwide currently and that bilingual teachers would pose a challenge for the local school system.
Most Popular
Comments / 0