Kindergarten effort stresses partnership

Tanner Kent
The Free Press

MANKATO May 13, 2008 10:59 pm

— When Jefferson Elementary principal Linda Kilander addressed a gymnasium full of parents Tuesday night, she gave them unsettling news.
It is not uncommon, she said, for a kindergarten class to have a five-year range of skills.
A kindergarten teacher may have several students who still use baby talk, are shy with adults and have difficulty listening. That same teacher may also have several students who can already read simple sentences and print their names.
But a child’s kindergarten skills, Kilander said, are integrally linked with how often and how well parents talk and interact with their children. For that reason, the Mankato Area School District’s newest initiative puts parents on the front lines of kindergarten preparation.
“Every parent wants their child to be successful,” Kilander said. “And to do that, we need to make parents a partner with the school.”
Mankato is the first school district in the state to implement the READY! for Kindergarten program, which has been adopted by about 30 districts nationwide.

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