Four-year old children of Vernon Township will be able to take part in a new pre-kindergarten school program to be offered at Crothersville Community Schools beginning next month.
Crothersville Elementary principal Chris Marshall told the local school board of trustees at their monthly meeting last Monday that the earlier students can begin the educational process the greater the likelihood of their success in life.
“Some kids some to the first day of kindergarten well prepared for class and the school environment,” said Marshall. “But there is a group of children who have not received an early family foundation support. There are many students who come to the first day of kindergarten not knowing their primary colors, not being able to count or know the alphabet. Our goal is to reach that group.”
Children who are age 4 by Aug. 1 will be eligible for pre-kindergarten classes.
“All research shows that for reading and math, early intervention is crucial,” said Marshall.
He noted that there would be no overlap or competition for students at local pre-school and child care facilities.
“We will be working with those pre-schools so that they can attend both the privately funded and our public school pre-kindergarten classes,” he said.
Marshall said that two session of pre-kindergarten are planned; the first on Monday and Wednesday, the second on Tuesday and Thursday. All sessions will run from 8:30-11:30 a.m.
“Some adults may think beginning a child’s education at 4 is too young,” said the principal. “But if young students come to kindergarten ill-prepared, they fall behind and are sometimes lost in the education process. Early intervention is always the best practice.”
In other business, the board voted unanimously to begin using the Madison Area Educational Special Services unit for special needs children’s education. The decision ends a nearly 50-year relationship with a similar special-education cooperative in Columbus.
Superintendent Terry Goodin said that a breakdown in cooperation with some of the Columbus member schools resulted in the decision to provide special needs curriculum with the Jefferson County based educational cooperative. He noted that Scottsburg and Austin students attend the Madison facility and that transportation costs can be shared with those schools.
•The board voted unanimously to re-new the local school’s educational agreement with IVY Tech. the agreement allows some classes at CHS to be counted toward college credit at the vocational-technical college.
•The board approved hiring 5 Star Technology Solutions of Sellerburg to provide computer maintenance and technical support.
•The July meeting was the first of the school’s fiscal year and the board is required to re-organize and elect officers. Dale Schmelzle was re-elected board president and Robert Spicer was re-elected vice president. Trina McLain was re-elected secretary and Terry Richey was appointed school treasurer.
Susan Sparks of the Seymour law firm Montgomery, Elsner & Pardieck and Charles Rubright of the Indianapolis law firm Bose McKinney & Evans were named the school’s legal counsel.
