Parents on Tuesday morning lined up outside of Mason Community Learning Center to take pictures, give hugs and offer last-minute assurances to some of Akron’s youngest students on the first full day of pre-kindergarten.
Pinned to the expansion of the Akron Public Schools program this school year: hopes that increased classroom instruction will improve readiness for more rigorous academics.
“It starts down here,” said SheRel Pringle, a pre-kindergarten teacher at Mason CLC. “You have to be able to manage some of your behaviors, take turns, wait.”
At the preschool level, structured play is the primary way teachers pass along lessons to students. That’s why Pringle is less concerned with academic achievement versus making sure her students are acclimated to the classroom and developing the social and emotional skills to navigate interactions.
“[We’re] giving them things they can use lifelong to get through when you get frustrated or upset when things don’t go their way,” Pringle said.
For students, the benefits of the growing program are clear: More class time means more structured play, which leads to increased readiness for kindergarten and beyond. There are also benefits that extend beyond the classroom and into homes.
“It’s a humongous cost savings,” Angela Bergmann said. Her daughter, Elizabeth, is in Pringle’s class this year.
Parent expects to save hundreds in child care costs
Previously, Bergmann said picking Elizabeth up midday and shuttling her to a day care proved challenging. And now, she expects to save about $1,500 per month in child care costs.
“It’s very difficult for a parent to have to work a full-time job and only have their child in school for four hours a day,” said Mason Principal Renee Kochis.
Kochis said before the full-day program, teachers and staff managed two pick-up and drop-off times for parents for half-day pre-kindergarten classes.
“It does meet a need for us to be able to work more,” said Emily Kamwesa, the mother of Maisha, a Mason CLC preschooler.
Kamwesa said it’s the same for many families in the Middlebury neighborhood. The full-day program is popular at Mason – Kochis said there’s a waiting list. She has about 32 kids across two classrooms.
This is a good problem, Kochis said, one that could help boost enrollment across APS for a generation.
“I think when parents start to feel comfortable with their child on their first school experience they want them to stay here,” Kochis said.
Given the early popularity of the full-day pre-kindergarten program across the district, Kochis hopes for further expansion.
“The need is there to grow,” she said, “so if we can grow, I think that would be beneficial.”
