KinderREADy program intends to improve childhood literacy before Kindergarten

Billings Public School classes will start on Tuesday, September 3, and as teachers prepare their classrooms, a small group of teachers are preparing for the start of the new KinderREADy program.

“KinderREADy is available to any child that will be four years old by September 10, and that scores in a way on literacy screening that shows they're not currently on track to reach grade level proficiency by the end of third grade,” Amy Schendel, the fine arts education coordinator for the district, said on Thursday.

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In 2023, the Montana legislature passed an Early Intervention Act (HB 352), opening up funding at the state level for early intervention literacy programs. The KinderREADy program was one that School District 2 started.

"Statistics show that when kids read proficiently by the end of third grade, that's kind of when things start to turn from learning to read to reading to learn, and so that's a really big benchmark, and that helps kids, of course, stay in school and be successful in everything. So, we chose to start KinderREADy, and we're piloting this at three different schools," Schendel said.

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The program is free for eligible students. So far, the district has 105 students to start on Tuesday, but there are 288 spots available. KinderREADy runs with the District 2 school year and offers half-day sessions either in the morning or afternoon.

“My job is to introduce the love of learning, and to expose these kids to reading and friendships, the social-emotional aspects, love for all subjects,” said KinderREADy teacher Talia Byram. "I've worked in schools where students have come in without any school prior, and without the exposure to how to behave in a classroom, and just even being exposed to what a letter is, what a number is, this hopefully will connect, they'll have a connection now going into kindergarten."

Justin McKinsey

The pre-K program will be in classrooms at Bench, McKinley and Orchard Elementary Schools.

“We're not only focusing on reading, we're focusing on the whole child, and that'll include hands-on play. There are a lot of building blocks to becoming a strong reader, and we're fortunate to have all of the supplies to build them a good strong foundation," said KinderREADy teacher Amy Boyer. “I think it'll be something that'll be very beneficial for everybody.”