On Monday, February 10, 2020, the Waterloo Board of Education unanimously approved more instructional days for the district’s four-year-old kindergarten program. We currently serve students on Tuesdays and Thursdays or on Mondays and Wednesdays. Students attend on alternate Fridays. Beginning in the fall, students entering 4K will attend classes Monday-Friday just as all of the other students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
Jen Hewitt will remain in 4K and Allison Malueg will join her; Bethany Kelly will continue in EC and assist in 4K with special needs. I am very excited at this opportunity to serve some of our youngest Pirates! Along with other benefits, research shows that full-day pre-kindergarten is associated with school readiness in areas of language, math, and social emotional development. We anticipate seeing our students grow in their abilities to positively interact with their peers and to further develop their fine motor skills. We value Waterloo’s early learners as they are rich with wonder and knowledge. Every child brings with them a deep curiosity and potential that drives their interest to understand their world and place within it. Our program will focus on strengthening a strong relationship between teacher and child as well as between our school and community.