By Tim Mandell
Register News Writer
RICHMOND — Madison County Schools is teaming up with local child care organizations in an attempt to do everything possible to prepare children for kindergarten.
Members of the Early Childhood Alliance appeared before the school board Thursday night to update the board on their progress.
In June, 2009, the Early Childhood Alliance began discussing ways to better prepare children for kindergarten, establishing a readiness checklist and toolkit.
Some of the ideas were to develop trust in relationships, brainstorm the benefits and requirements of an alliance and to form an alliance agreement, said Karla Willis, preschool director.
Finding the time to train qualified workers was another issue, said Marvin Welch, elementary supervisor.
Workers need 15 hours of training each year.
To make sure everyone has a chance to earn their training, the Early Childhood Alliance plans to have a super Saturday, where there will be three six-hour training sessions available.
Mentoring triangles also are being suggested. For example, a triangle could include a childcare worker, a kindergarten teacher and a pre-school teacher, each having one hour to train the others.
“They can share and discuss what they’re doing and they’re all learning from each other,” Welch said.
Among organizations that already are on board as part of the alliance are: Kid’s Kingdom, Harvest Christian Academy, Imagination Station Child Development, Richmond Childcare Center, Leaps and Bounds Child Development Center, Head Start, the Madison County Early Childhood Council and the Eastern Kentucky University Early Childhood IEC program.
The school board unanimously approved the Early Childhood Development Agreement.
“The only way we can get our big toe in the door is to have a partnership with private organizations,” said board member John Lackey.
Board member Betsy Bohannon said the children will benefit from the partnerships.
“I truly believe we’re stronger as a group,” she said.
Tim Mandell can be reached at tmandell@richmondregister.com or 623-1669 ext. 6696.
