As the district-wide Iola preschool program gets ready to wrap up its fourth year, teachers told school board members about some of the ways they’ve been inspired.
Three preschool teachers and others recently attended an early education conference in Chicago. They visited Monday’s school board meeting to share their experiences.
The Iola district has a unique program that combines its preschool classes at Iola Elementary School with two private preschools. All of the teachers share the same curriculum and training.
The three preschools work together — and with kindergarten teachers — to ensure when local kindergartners enter school, they’re all on the same page and prepared.
About 90% of incoming kindergartners next year will have attended preschool, USD 257 curriculum director Jenna Higginbotham previously said.
Speakers at Monday’s meeting were Jalayne Nelson from IES, Megan McKarnin from Munchkinland and More preschool and Sheri Orear with Ready Set Learn Preschool. Each briefly spoke about what they have learned from the conference and the past few years as part of the district’s program.
Orear said she remembers being “out on our own” five years ago before the district established the partnership. She recalled going to an early education conference with the district for the first time.
“There were rooms with information and knowledge and answers to my problems,” she said. “Instead of just bringing things home to my classroom, these conferences are a spark for me.”
She starts each year with energy and eagerness, but her enthusiasm begins to wane about halfway through the school year. The conference in March is the perfect time to reignite that spark, she said.
“We want our students to leave our classroom with a spark, so we have to take care of ourselves and continue learning. I come back with a little extra pep in my step and I feel so much more confident to finish my year strong.”
Nelson talked about specific sessions she attended and how that helps different types of students. Her favorite session was one that uses everyday items such as bottle caps or pieces of wood and encourages students to be creative.
She also learned tips to encourage classroom participation with students who are shy and silent — the modern term is “selective mutism.”
“Those are the ones who slip through the cracks, the quiet ones,” she said.
McKarnin also talked about finding inspiration at the conference.
Preschool teachers can’t expect students to sit at a desk and write in workbooks for hours at a time. Instead, they learn through play.
She was pleased to learn new ways to encourage students using things she already has in her classroom. Most of the sessions were taught by other preschool teachers from across the country.
