New London ― After months of preparation, the school district is ready to roll out a new transitional kindergarten program designed to prepare some of its youngest learners for the next steps in their education journeys.
Superintendent Cynthia Ritchie on Thursday said the impetus for the new offering was almost entirely in reaction to legislation that requires children to turn 5 on or before Sept. 1 to be automatically eligible for kindergarten.
That requirement, which goes into effect for the 2024-25 school year, modifies a previous kindergarten cut-off date of Jan. 1.
The transitional program, open to children at least 4½ years old, will take a “play-based” approach with an emphasis on problem-solving, exploration and imagination-type activities, Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Hills-Papetti said.
“There’s a myth out there that play-based learning isn’t really learning, but’s that not the case,” she said. “There’s a lot of movement and a lot of hands-on activities.”
Ritchie said the program is “not a day care,” but a true education program aimed at helping students fine-tune their pre-reading, early math and budding social skills ahead of entering a kindergarten class the following year.
“These are certified teachers following (state early learning and development standards) with a high-quality curriculum and staff,” she said.
Over the spring and summer, 53 children underwent pre-screening to determine which class – pre-kindergarten, transitional kindergarten or kindergarten – they'd best thrive. The screenings gauged a child’s proficiency in language, self-concepts, the ability to follow directions and to play with others.
Of the screened kids, between 30-34 were selected as the first members of the new transitional kindergarten cohort who will attend either full- or part-time classes at the C.B Jennings International Elementary School.
Another 90 students will head to pre-kindergarten and roughly 190 kids will be placed in one of the district’s nine kindergarten classrooms. The district also offers a year-round kindergarten option.
Ritchie said the transitional program does not come with added costs as the children taking part in the program would otherwise be placed in pre-K or kindergarten classes.
New London is now the second district in the area to offer a transitional kindergarten program. Groton six years ago introduced a similar program, dubbed “TK,” limited to 18 to 20 students at the Thames River Magnet School.
Groton expands, Norwich declines TK program
Rebecca Kuchar Beyus, the Groton district’s communications specialist, said the full-day program will be expanded to four of the district's five elementary schools – all except the Charles Barnum Elementary School ― for the 2024-25 school year.
She said 16 students were enrolled in TK last year and 58 are so far enrolled for the 2024-25 school year.
“But we expect another 10 to 25 more enrollments by the first day of school,” Beyus said.
Beyus said the district years ago noticed some of its younger students, while age-eligible for kindergarten, weren’t necessarily mature enough for the move from an education or development standpoint. She said the new age requirement highlighted the need for more TK slots.
Norwich acting Superintendent Susan Lessard said the city school district does not have a transitional kindergarten program, but does not need to make any major adjustments to accommodate the age change for kindergarten enrollment.
Lessard said the state is allowing the district to grant a waiver to parents whose children will turn 5 between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31. Norwich is accepting all such waiver requests, she said.
As of Wednesday, parents of about 30 students have requested waivers, and 23 of those families have completed all steps required for the waiver. Registrations are continuing, and the district is getting about two waiver requests per week, Lessard said, adding that most do not follow through with the process to be considered for early acceptance into kindergarten.
Norwich Public Schools also aligned preschool enrollment ages with the new kindergarten law. Now, children must be 3 by Sept. 1 to enroll in Norwich preschool.
“We are making case-by-case exceptions for this,” Lessard said.
As of mid-May, Norwich had 246 students enrolled in preschool, with 86 openings remaining.
j.penney@theday.com
Day Staff Writer Claire Bessette contributed to this story.
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