Where We Were When We Started in Fall '08

When we started our literacy program in the fall of 2008, our Kindergarten teachers described their new kids as a bit more developmentally delayed and lacked the readiness of the kids they had experienced the year before.   This is not unusual as Kindergarten classes go.  Sometimes a group is exceptional (like the Kindergarten class of SY '07-'08  class, but more on that later) sometimes a group is average and other times we have a group that makes you wonder what was in the water supply the year they were conceived. 

Our First Graders (the Kindergarteners of SY '07-'08)  as I stated above were quite an exceptional group of kids.  They were physically coordinated, emotionally stable, and developmentally and academically 'in their zone'. 

Just to back up a little, my school is considered a poverty school.  I beg to differ.  We do live in an area of the country that has a lower than average cost of living, so therefore, our average household income is less than the national average.  Due to this, it is easy to qualify as a 'poverty' school.  Our makeup of kids is, however very diverse.  We do have some extreme poverty, but we also have a very strong middle class representation.  Our parents are involved, of course, as a teacher, I would love to see more involvement, but I really can't complain.

Our teachers are among the most professional people I have ever had the privilege with which to work.  I have worked in both public and private schools in my 15 year career as a teacher.  (The least professional group of teachers I worked with, were in a private school setting.)  I have never had the pleasure to work with a more dedicated group of professionals than I do now.   I truly believe that this is one of the reasons for the results we are getting with our literacy model.