A FREE ONE-DAY, county-wide kindergarten readiness event, will be held on Sat., May 9, from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at five area libraries, including Battle Ground, Ridgefield, Vancouver, Cascade Park, and Washougal.
“Are You K Ready?”, a free one-day, county-wide kindergarten readiness event, will be held on Sat., May 9, from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at five area libraries, including Battle Ground, Ridgefield, Vancouver, Cascade Park, and Washougal.
The event is sponsored by Support for Early Learning & Families (SELF), a nonprofit organization in Clark County, which aims to build community support for young children and their families.
Children can get their passport stamped at activity stations, sign up for reading activities and library cards, and enjoy a puppet show (at three locations). Families will also receive immunization information, assistance with finding your local school, and prize giveaways such as books, art supplies, and Dozer Days tickets.
More than 5,500 children will enter kindergarten this fall in Clark County. Ninety percent of a child’s brain development happens by age 5, and further research indicates that if children aren’t ready when they start school, and haven’t caught up by third grade, they will never catch up.
Quality early learning can make a big difference by closing the opportunity gaps that start before kindergarten. SELF helps families to recognize what it means for their child to be “kindergarten ready,” and to know what they can do over the summer in order to get ready.
Children who are 5 years old by August 31 of the upcoming school year are eligible to start kindergarten. Many families are unsure of where their child will attend school, or what is required for their registration. SELF connects families with young children with available resources, and provides the information they need to enter kindergarten.
Debbie Ham, executive director of SELF, emphasized the importance of early kindergarten registration.
“Districts hire staff and organize classrooms based on enrollment numbers when school lets out in the spring,” she explained.
When there is an influx of new students in the fall, sometimes classes must be reorganized, disrupting new students when they are just getting adjusted to school.
“Kindergarten Roundup” at most local schools will take place after the “Are You K Ready?” event, so that families will have the information they need to attend and be prepared. School enrollment requires a certified copy of your child’s birth certificate, immunization records, and proof of address (in some districts). If your child has any special medical and/or educational needs, also provide the school with those records.
Parents play a pivotal role in their child’s education, because they bring insight into their child’s strengths, how they learn and the things they love.
“This is valuable knowledge for the teacher,” said Ham. “The underpinning of a child’s success in school is their family’s engagement and partnership with the school.”
The SELF website atwww.selfwa.org includes a form called “All About Me,” which is part of a state-wide efforts to include parents’ knowledge of their child that is important to their learning. Ham recommends completing this form and taking it along to enrollment so the teacher will know more about your child. In fact, some schools will already include it with registration materials.
SELF believes that an early childhood system goes far beyond schools and education, and they work to bring together all of the sectors that touch early childhood education, including health care, early childhood educators, human and social services, K-12 school districts, the private sector and families.
SELF partners with more than 20 area agencies that make up the “early childhood system.”
“How do our decisions as a community impact our children?” asked Ham.
SELF wants everyone to understand what their shared stakes are in all children’s early years.
