Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Early Childhood Education topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Port Angeles board hears data, parent stories showing impact of Transition to Kindergarten program
Summary
Teachers and parents told the Port Angeles School District board that the state-funded Transition to Kindergarten (TK) program has raised early literacy, speech and social-emotional skills for participating 4‑ and 5‑year‑olds; teachers urged continued state funding as the district tracks higher kindergarten readiness.
The Port Angeles School District Board of Directors on March 13 heard a detailed progress report on the district’s Transition to Kindergarten (TK) program, with teachers and parents presenting data and personal accounts showing gains in early literacy, speech and social-emotional skills among participating 4‑ and 5‑year‑olds.
District teaching-and-learning staff said the TK program serves children who are at least 4 years old by Aug. 31 and who screen into the program as needing additional support. Teachers reported that many TK students begin the year “intensive” on screeners and by kindergarten show measurable gains: one slide presented to the board showed that a cohort with one student meeting all standards at the start of TK rose to 14 students meeting all domains by the start of kindergarten.
“Not having access to preschool puts students behind when they enter kindergarten,” said Lauren Lent, transitional-K teacher at Dry Creek. “We are able to work with them before they get into kindergarten — not just academics but regulation and social skills. Speech is huge. If children can’t use words, it’s a struggle in every other area.”
The teachers described daily TK routines built around circle time, small-group centers, repeated reading, two outdoor periods and explicit social‑emotional lessons. Class-size maximum is 16 students, with paraeducator support in each classroom. Teachers reported that, across their two TK classrooms, nine students were receiving speech services and that early speech intervention substantially improves communication and reduces frustration-driven behaviors.
Parents described noticeable changes at home after their children entered TK. “The way his vocabulary and use of language has grown these last few months is just indescribable,” parent Erica Xavier told the board, referencing her son Landon’s progress in Dry Creek’s TK. Another parent, Lauren Lesser, said TK reduced a family’s childcare costs by more than $1,000 a month and provided routine and peer connections that helped her son begin reading and make friends.
Board members responded by urging parents and community members to contact state legislators in support of continued TK funding. A member of the board emphasized that the district’s data show early intervention reduces later intervention needs and improves long‑term outcomes.
Teachers and parents asked the board to continue district-level support while the state considers funding for TK, and they invited board members and community members to visit classrooms to see the work firsthand.
The presentation included state-level screening comparisons, local DIBELS reading data showing former TK students tracking at or above core benchmarks through early grades, and enrollment/placement details for district TK classes.
