Students get jump start on the school year

Although the scorching summer heat usually keeps kids at home, a group of Florence Mattison Elementary School students have been getting a head start at school.

For the fourth year, the school is offering a summer Learning Institute to provide current students with a jump on curriculum and to give new kindergartners a snapshot of what's to come.

Carrrie Strode  

Antwan Criswell, a teacher at Florence Mattison Elementary School, helps preschoolers Quincy Tate and Jailyn Mims-Crawford with the alphabet Thursday at the school's summer Learning Institute. CARRIE STRODE PHOTO

The month-long institute began Wednesday and, according to counselor Tanisha Minter, the kids were already getting into the swing of things Thursday.

"They are having fun here just trying to get a jump start on knowing how school works," Minter said. "It's very important because we have several high poverty children who just lack exposure to these routines."

Two classrooms full of preschoolers eager to get their brains in gear were present Thursday, and kindergarten teacher Antwan Criswell said they had already learned a lot.

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"They are already ready for kindergarten, and it's only the second day," Criswell said. "They are so excited now and they will be even more excited when they come back and know what to do and where to go."

With almost half of the students well-versed in behavioral procedures, Criswell said in the fall she will be able to perform her main task of teaching as quickly as possible.

"It really helps when we can get started early on the extensive kindergarten curriculum we have in Arkansas now," Criswell said.

Not only have the entering kindergartners practiced walking in a single file line and raising their hands, they have also been working on academics.

"I think after this program, when they do come in the fall, this actually makes them prouder to be here," Minter said. "The school and the learning is definitely more familiar to them and they are used to the routines and expectations. It makes them very independent."

While the younger students of Florence Mattison are spending time preparing for the school year, the older students are thinking even further ahead.

Students who attended the school for third- and fourth-grade in the 2008-09 school year have been learning about career choices, according to Minter.

"The main task is to help these kids who may not have had the opportunity to see different careers in action by bringing in speakers and then going on field trips," Minter said.

From firefighters to bankers to veterinarians, several local professionals will be visiting Florence Mattison this month.

Minter said she wanted the students who will transition to Simon Intermediate School in the fall to stick around for this portion of the institute so they can see that they have options.

"We are trying to get them to have more leadership and hopefully get a career in mind so they can start paying more attention to the classes they're taking," Minter said. "I don't think it's ever too early for them to decide what they want to be."

Minter also said discussing postsecondary education in certain fields also encourages the elementary students to start thinking about college as a necessity, not an option.

"I don't want them to think about it like a choice, I want them to know that as soon as they graduate high school, they are going on to college," Minter said.

The Florence Mattison Learning Institute is funded through a 21st Century Grant. Minter said a major component of this grant is preparing the students for what's ahead.

(Staff writer Jessica Bauer can be reached by e-mail at jessica.bauer@thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1236. To comment on this and other stories in the Log Cabin, log on to www.thecabin.net. Send us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit)