A bunch of 4-year-olds gather for “circle time,” a short period to go over daily activities, the weather, the calendar and other odds and ends.
Then, teacher Andrenette Boylan disperses them into learning centers. There, many pair up with a peer and learn from building with Legos, reading books, listening to education material on audio, dressing up and acting in the dramatic area and more.
The students are attending class in the debut pre-k program at Cesar Chavez Elementary School, the latest such program offered through the United Way of Santa Fe County. The United Way already runs two pre-K classes at Agua Fria Elementary and one at Kaune Elementary.
In pre-k programs such as the new one at Cesar Chavez, the children prepare for kindergarten by learning to get along with each other in a classroom as well as learning numbers, letters, colors and more, Boylan said during a break from her class.
Boylan’s challenge comes from only getting the kids for three hours at a time, she said.
“With that, you just become creative, make it an opportunity to learn,” said Boylan, who came to Cesar Chavez after six years teaching pre-k in Hernandez, just outside Española.
To teach pre-k, “you have to have patience,” she said. At the same time, Boylan said, “I’m a kid at heart. I try to walk in their shoes, see things from their eyes.”
She also tries to use methods that her teachers used when she was a little girl in school as well as teaching the 4-year-olds that school can be fun — that it’s not just tests and homework.
Brian Dineen, chief operating officer for the Santa Fe Children’s Project of the United Way, said he sees pre-k as a form of social justice.
“I’m interested in kids having a fair shot,” Dineen said.
The United Way works with the state Children Youth and Families Department and private donors to put pre-k programs in Santa Fe Public Schools. So far, the pre-k classes are in schools that have a majority of children on free and reduced lunches. If it weren’t for the pre-k programs, the kids would be at home, Dineen said.
The goal is to get at least one pre-k class at every public elementary school in Santa Fe County, but that’s not realistic, at least not for a while because of the state budget, he said.
Evidence from Rutgers University shows pre-k succeeds in preparing children for kindergarten, prevents dropouts, increases graduation rates and increases the number of people who will enter the workforce with job skills.
Contact Brad Buck at (505) 629-4408 or bbuck@nmfreepress.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
