Kindergarten is a key grade for building reading skills and setting good attendance habits. The school system’s Office of Youth, Family and Community Engagement (YFCE) gave that message to families on Monday with 700 brown paper bags of toys and books.
“We’ve long known that kindergarten attendance has been an issue pre-pandemic. Of course the issue continues in the pandemic age. We wanted to take an extra effort to reach out to kindergarten families and support with an additional message that attending is important and happy holidays,” said YFCE Chief Gemma Joseph-Lumpkin.
The department held the pick-up at their current office on Orchard Street. The district’s reading department, the nonprofit Read To Grow, the Yale Police Department and State Rep. Al Paolillo all donated the books, games, dolls and cars packed into the bags.
Joseph-Lumpkin said that the research on kindergarten attendance indicates that families tend to undervalue the importance of kindergarten as an important part of their child’s education.
“Is it important? Is it going to impact my child’s learning later on? That’s really what the misconception is all about,” she said.
In addition, Joseph-Lumpkin’s team has found families making choices about whether to help their child stay focused in their online classes or care for a sick family member, or find affordable child care while they go to work in person.
Kindergarten and preschool classes have shrunk in New Haven and throughout the state during the Covid-19 pandemic. Those who have enrolled are more likely to be absent than other elementary and middle school students.
“The most devastating impact is to literacy skills and the ability to read by third grade. Our experience and the literature also tells us that when students build a habit of not attending in those early grades, we see that pattern continues throughout their educational career,” Joseph-Lumpkin said.
So the YFCE holiday message is: their office is there to help families with those decisions so their kindergarteners can attend regularly and shore up reading and attendance skills for their future.
Thank you to everyone who donated to this cause. Kindergarteners suffer the most with online learning. As soon as the infection numbers go down below 2%, the Pre-K through 5th graders should be in a hybrid model classroom setting so they can have at least some of the in person learning that is so critically important at these early learning years. It would help make their online learning days more relevant and developmentally appropriate. The books, games and toys help children view school as a positive experience, instead of a scary and frustrating and boring one.