Education officials tour East Marion programs
East Marion Elementary School showed off its innovative summer programs Wednesday to a host of state and national education officials.
The group observed the Save the Children SummerBoost, which helps second through fifth graders stay out of a summer slump, and KinderBoost, which introduces incoming kindergarteners to the school environment so they won’t be overwhelmed come August.
Amanda Smithson, director of state policy and advocacy for Save the Children, said it focuses on areas of rural poverty to help children enter kindergarten ready and to be strong in elementary school.
“Today we’re here to share this program with some of our Jackson leaders and some of our elected officials. We want them to see the amazing work happening here and share the data so they can see how well the program is going. We like to be able to show off our results,” she said. “One of the things we pride ourselves in is how well we monitor and evaluate the programs. One of the strongest things we can to is to bring our state leaders out and show them on the ground what we’re doing.”
Visitors included local state Reps. Ken Morgan and Bill Pigott, Rep. John Read of Jackson, Rep. Richard Bennett of Long Beach, State Literacy Director Kymyona Burk, Director of the Early Childhood Academy Micca A. Knox, and Save the Children staff members Kimberly R. Smith-Russ, deputy director of programs, Kevin McCartney, associate vice president U.S. programs and advocacy, Yolanda Minor, Early Steps program specialist, and Sheena Weatherford, school-age program specialist.
The team spent several hours visiting classrooms and then event went on a site visit to meet a family impacted by the programs.
Weatherford, who administers programs in five school districts, including the one at East Marion, spoke to the importance of the services.
She said KinderBoost helps about 20 incoming kindergarteners get ready for school over two weeks.
“They have an abbreviated school day where they actually see how the school day runs, and then we have literacy and math centers,” she said. “They’ll learn how to write their name and make sure the basic skills are there to enter kindergarten.”
Students are chosen based on their needs and family needs, especially those who have never had any previous school.
“It brings them in so they’re not so anxious and it lets them see that it is a fun, safe place for families and for students,” Weatherford said.
The SummerBoost program for second through fifth graders lasts six weeks and has had more than 60 students enrolled.
“They are getting all that they need and they’re not lagging behind,” Weatherford said. “We offer literacy programs with read-alouds and vocabulary programs to learn fluency, guided independent reading practice, based on their reading levels, and then we offer math instruction to make sure that they have that enrichment and that they have hands-on experience.
“We offer a healthy choices component, too. We focus on community service, enrichment, nutrition education and family engagement.”
This is the fifth year for SummerBoost and third year for the KinderBoost program.
“For kids, this really gives them a safe, fun space for the summer,” Weatherford said. “They’re also building all the skills they need to not lose what they learned during the summer.”
Pictured Above: School-age Program Specialist Sheena Weatherford speaks to State Rep. Ken Morgan and State Rep. Bill Pigott while in a classroom of the KinderBoost program at East Marion Elementary School. | Photo by Mark Rogers
