Summer learning addresses literacy
Brandon Crosland, 6, plays on the final day of the 2013 summer Bridges Program at Waynesburg Elementary School.
Tara Kinsell/Observer-Reporter David Crosland helps his son Aaron, 4, put together a project at Waynesburg Elementary School during the final day of the summer Bridges Program for literacy.
A group of 110 students took part in the Bridges Program this summer at Waynesburg Elementary School.
WAYNESBURG – Mention summer school to most kids and it would be greeted with obstinacy. That was not the case for children attending the Bridges Program at Waynesburg Elementary School that concluded Thursday.
It took a bit to get Aaron Crosland, 4, talking about what they did at the program but once he started the youngster spoke with enthusiasm.
“We got to take home a ‘Cat in the Hat’ book. The boy hit the ball and it was going all around town,” Aaron said. “We got a book about a big ginormous butterfly. I painted a caterpillar, and I found a blue bird on the playground.”
He was quick to point out that the blue bird was a picture that was placed there by the teachers.
Testing him on his mathematical skills, Aaron quickly spouted off the correct answers to two plus one and five plus five. He proudly wrote his name and exaggerated a bit on the number of dinosaur fossils he found in a digging expedition in the sand.
In its second year in Central Greene School District, the Bridges Program is a federally funded early childhood transition program that is offered free to children in preschool and kindergarten to get them ready for kindergarten and first grade. The program is part of the Keystones to Opportunities Grant Program. Director of Curriculum, Instruction, Technology, and Federal Programs in the district, Annette Vietmeier, made application for the program two years ago.
“When I submitted the Keystones to Opportunity Grant, Bridges was only a vision. Bridges teachers have taken this program to a level that even I couldn’t imagine at the time,” Vietmeier said. “Their imagination, creativity, and love for the students are immeasurable and I admire their dedication to the program, the students, and their parents.”
From year 1 to year 2 enrollment has grown from 55 to 110 students in the three-day per week program that operates from 9 a.m. to noon. Students are provided breakfast and lunch through the free summer food program and parents are given the option to share lunch with their children at a cost of $3 per day.
David Crosland, whose sons, Aaron, 4, and Brandon, 6, attended Bridges this summer said the money to continue a program such as this one should be a given.
“The way the school is set up in general. The curriculum here I just can’t believe it. If not for the teachers he’d (Aaron) have to go another year before starting kindergarten. Because of what they taught him I feel completely confident in sending him now,” Crosland said. “I can’t say enough about the teachers and this program. I feel every school should have this program. Their kids would benefit from it and excel in the long run.”
There were additional benefits for his boys, Crosland said.
“Being around the other kids here has really opened Aaron up. He is not as timid,” Crosland said. “My oldest (Brandon) had some behavioral problems last year and the program has really settled him down. The whole time they’ve been here they’ve loved it and were pushing me to bring them every day.”
Paul Sten and his wife, Deborah Burris-Sten said the program has allowed their son, Edwin, 6, to blossom.
Earlier in the year Edwin underwent surgery to remove his adenoids and open up his airway. He had suffered with asthma since a bout of pneumonia as an infant. Paul and Deborah said the surgery made a significant improvement in his breathing. Along the way, Edwin had extra work to do to catch up so Deborah beamed when she said, “The growth in him from the program is wonderful. To go from so severely ill to the young man he is today…you wouldn’t know that by looking at him.”
“Every day he just wanted to make sure he was here. He couldn’t wait to come. He is learning to be a lot more independent than he has been,” Deborah said. “He loves to read books and he has been reading the whole way home and asking, ‘What’s this? What’s that?'”
From simple mathematics to reading and writing skills, the children received instruction in fun and engaging ways, Paul said.
“The projects they do here each week had a theme. They did two weeks that were dinosaurs and oceans. He is very proficient when it comes to dinosaurs so he was really excited,” Paul said. “He has an ABC guide that uses dinosaurs to teach the alphabet. His knowledge of dinosaurs is incredible for his age so the dinosaur theme was something he really loved.”
Deborah said she considered Bridges to be the best program, hands-down, that she has seen for young children.
“I recommend to anyone to bring their children to this program,” Deborah said. “He needed it. He is now socializing more and verbalizing more. He has already made some new friends and got to see his kindergarten classroom.”
Paul added that the tour of the facilities will make the transition a much smoother one for the youngsters when they arrive for school in August.
The Keystone Grant that supports the Bridges Program in the district is intended to be a five year grant. However, that is contingent upon continued federal funding. Central Greene was one of only 56 districts to be given the monies out of a starting pool of 329 districts applying.
The first year funding of $435,739, requested by Vietmeier, was approved in full. Following a mandated rubric, the largest portion, $168,466 goes to literacy in grades K-5. However, the overall grant serves children from birth through grade 12. The initiative includes students with limited English proficiency and students with disabilities.
The distribution for birth through age five is $68,053, middle school is $114,654, and high school is $84,566.
Vietmeier said the team at Central Greene, working with staff from Waynesburg University’s Education Department, parents, teachers, and administrators identified the needs and formulated the plan to improve literacy in the district and community.
“We look forward to developing a comprehensive, coordinated, and sustainable District Literacy Plan for all students; which embeds ongoing, high-quality professional development support for all teachers and administrators birth through grade 12 and beyond,” Vietmeier said. “In Central Greene, literacy is known to be the foundation of success in life.”