To be eligible for a screening, children must: be age 5 by Aug. There’s still time to find out if your child qualifies. The Everett School District’s new Transitional Kindergarten program starts Jan. It’s not right or wrong, it’s what their experience is,” Arnold said. They’ve had a lot of great experiences culturally,” she said, but aren’t familiar with a classroom. A lot of children in our school come from other countries.

“For children at home, they’re not in a structured environment. Several districts in the region have similar programs, she said, among them an early version in Bellingham called Promise Kindergarten.Īrnold sees the goal of Transitional Kindergarten as giving every child the best possible start in school. The district has hired staff for the program, and all teachers will be full-time and certificated, Arnold said. For Transitional Kindergarten students, those meetings are set for Jan. Like all children entering kindergarten in Washington’s public schools, they’ll meet one-on-one with their families and their kindergarten teacher. 30, children joining the classes will take part in the Family Connection part of the state program called WaKIDS (Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills). “And it may not be where the child will attend kindergarten in the fall.”īefore the first day of Transitional Kindergarten Jan. Six locations have space, and so far it appears there will be four sites. The district doesn’t expect every school to have Transitional Kindergarten. Head Start is a federal program, while the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, often referred to as “E-Cap,” is funded by Washington state for 3- and 4-year-olds. We’ve had over 140 inquiries on the interest form.”Įverett’s Transitional Kindergarten is “designed to meet the needs of kids in the gap, they don’t qualify for ECEAP or Head Start, two public programs,” Arnold said. “If they qualify, we’ll immediately enroll them. Parents filling out the form can expect a call from a school official, and will possibly be scheduled for one of two screenings, planned for next Tuesday and Thursday, at district headquarters at 3900 Broadway.Īt the Community Resource Center, children are being screened for kindergarten readiness skills, Arnold said.

Seattle schools kindergarten jump start