District tests preschool program State officials observe Oakdale classroom

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District tests preschool program
State officials observe Oakdale classroom

Katy Zillmer
staff writer

Kristen Longway's preschool classroom at Oakdale Elementary School was the center of state officials' attention on early childhood education last Friday.

State Rep. Nora Slawik, DFL-Maplewood, Lt. Gov. Yvonne Prettner Solon and Minnesota Department of Education Early Learning Services director Karen Carlson visited the classroom, which is part of the North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale District's preschool education pilot program this year.

Longway asked the state officials to visit Oakdale Elementary so they could see the importance of preschool education. Members of District 622's Board of Education also were at the school with Superintendent Patty Phillips.

Longway was a kindergarten teacher for 15 years at Weaver Elementary before switching to the preschool program at Oakdale. Webster Elementary School also has a pilot preschool class.

During the visit, officials saw attentive 4- and 5-year-old students sing songs, read, and do alphabet exercises that all build toward what they'll be learning in the district's elementary schools.

They also learn social skills such as listening to Longway and working together -- which will ease their transition into kindergarten classrooms.

Parent volunteers help in the classroom on a daily basis, and special-education students in the district's Next Step program also help.

Preschool started in October 2010. Prior to that, Longway visited incoming students' homes to meet them and answer parents' questions.

Parents are welcome into the classroom so they can find out what children are learning and reinforce the lessons at home. Longway also sends updates to parents each week to provide details about exercises they do in class.

There are 34 students total in the classes at Oakdale, and there is a waiting list.

Showing a need
Oakdale Elementary was identified for the preschool program in part because its students show the greatest need for kindergarten preparation, said Principal Peter Mau.

"We see here the huge disparity between students who have had preschool experiences and those who haven't," Mau said, adding that a majority of the students qualify for free and reduced-price lunch or are learning English as a second language.

"Most of the kids who are in this program are kids who would have come to kindergarten and they would have been behind," Mau said. "They're going to start kindergarten as leaders in their class."

Funding for the program is an experiment this year as well.

The district received approval from the Department of Education to allocate a portion of its state integration revenue to the two preschool classes this year, said Office of Educational Equity Coordinator Tom Howley.

The district was initially given integration revenue from the state in the 1990s, when its demographics were primarily European American. For 10 years, District 622 joined other suburban districts and St. Paul Public Schools in the East Metro Integration District.

However, Minnesota's desegregation rule allows partner districts to leave EMID when they experience changes in demographics. In the 10 years before District 622's decision to leave EMID, students of color attending its schools increased from 10 percent to 33 percent.

District 622 has now been in an integration collaborative with Mahtomedi for two years, as Mahtomedi has a low percent of minority enrollment.

Outside that collaborative, the district's integration budget can fund programs that help close the achievement gap and create inclusive learning environments, Howley said.

That's why the preschool program was being checked out by state officials, who can now consider whether integration revenue should be used to better prepare students with language or other barriers for kindergarten.

The Department of Education approved about $261,000 of the district's total integration budget for the preschool classes this year. The district receives just over $1.7 million in integration revenue from the state, Howley said.

Model program
Rep. Slawik, who is the DFL lead on the Early Childhood Committee, said using integration funding for preschool is "innovative."

In fact, she said she is working on introducing a bill that would allow the use of state integration dollars as funding for preschool programs.

After her visit at Oakdale Elementary, Slawik said she wants more information on how the curriculum was developed and how the students' progress will be monitored.

Overall, she said, 622's program is a good model for the Legislature to consider.

"If we allowed funding through integration funds for preschool I think we could show other districts a preschool program that's working," Slawik said.

For the district, the hope is to continue the preschool program at Oakdale and Webster and possibly expand it to other buildings, according to Howley. "I think the value is clear," Howley said.

Superintendent Phillips agreed that an early introduction to the classroom could yield similar results to those of students who spend all day, instead of half a day, at school.

Students in the district's all-day, every day kindergarten program have 8 to 15 percent better proficiency by the time they are tested at second and third grade, she said.

"We just feel that investment in early childhood is where it's at to close the achievement gap," Phillips said.

Local to state
There may be the opportunity to do that under Gov. Mark Dayton's "Better Schools for Better Minnesota" plan announced this month.

Outside of Oakdale and Webster's elementary pilot programs, early childhood education is a focus at the state level. The governor has proposed extending education statewide to a preschool through 12th-grade system.

Prettner Solon said the "huge" achievement gap in the state as well as the need for programs to engage children prompted her to accept the invitation to visit Oakdale Elementary's preschool.

"What we need to do is find those programs that engage children so that they're eager to learn," Prettner Solon said. As a result, she said, "children who are the most in need and underprivileged have the type of stimulation that is required to help them get up to where children need to be in order to learn effectively."

The governor's top priority is economic development and jobs, Prettner Solon said, adding, "He recognizes that in order for us to have a prosperous state we need a well-educated and well-prepared workforce."

"The goal is to help educate children from their earliest moments so they are ready to be successful," Prettner Solon said.

Based on her experience at Oakdale Elementary Friday, Prettner Solon said, "Obviously, it's a successful program. I'm very impressed."

Katy Zillmer can be reached at kzillmer@lillienews.com or at 651-748-7822.