The first day of school for Kindergarten students can be a mix of emotions, including excitement, confusion, and worry about the unknown. Smooth transitions from preschool to Kindergarten depend on connections between schools and families and between preschool and kindergarten teachers and classrooms before kindergarten entry. Okaloosa County School District provides transition activities from preschool to Kindergarten to help with this process. This year, some of our Title I schools offered Summer Kickstart, a program that brings incoming Kindergarteners into the classroom before the whole school community arrives to familiarize them with the campus, introduce resilience strategies, and teach routines. Superintendent Marcus Chambers added, “This is a way to set our students up for success, allowing them to become familiar with people they will see on the first day and the environment they will learn in with extended time and fewer intimidating factors.”
We had a great turnout this year. Our Title 1 Department anticipated 200 students to attend, and we had 350 enroll in the program offered by eleven schools across the district, including Bob Sikes, Edwins, Kenwood, Laurel Hill, Lewis, Mary Esther, Northwood, Riverside, Shalimar, Walker, and Wright Elementary Schools. Each child and family who participates receives a backpack filled with Summer Express Learning Materials, Just Right Reader Decodable packs, and Share and Take Turns, a book by Cheri J. Meiners. This program was open July 24-27 for any incoming Kindergartener enrolled at a participating school and was funded by the Title 1 District Initiative. Chambers added, “I appreciate the teachers and administrators who ran the program at their school and our Title 1 Department for making this program successful.
We look forward to adding more schools to this initiative in the future!”
