Seven years ago, the Vail Valley Foundation, in conjunction with the Eagle County School District, changed the face of education in the Vail Valley with the creation of “Success at Six”, providing the much needed funding that ensured that Eagle County families with kindergarten-aged children would have the opportunity for them to attend fulltime early learning educational programs.
Looking ahead to the summer 0f 2011, the Foundation and the School District are poised to once again dramatically alter the educational landscape in the Vail Valley with the creation of an all new kindergarten readiness pilot program that will center on the idea that a child’s first step to their educational future actually comes from being socially prepared to enter kindergarten.
Dubbed “Great Start”, this new program will utilize teachers and classrooms at Avon Elementary School, Gypsum Elementary School and June Creek Elementary School for a seven-week summer semester that will run from June 20 through August 5. Sessions will run four days per week and will accommodate a total of 195 students, with a target of 15 children per classroom and a 1 to 8 teacher-student ratio.
The need for a “Great Start” to the educational process is well documented. National assessments show that by fourth grade, there are already significant gaps in the achievement of black, Hispanic, and white children. Other studies demonstrate differences as early as the first grade. Add to these findings the fact that Colorado’s largest achievement gap exists in Eagle County and the need becomes painfully clear.
In addition to the student component of Great Start, parents will also be required to be involved in the process through the Family Literacy Project aspect of the program. Once a child is enrolled in Great Start, his or her parents become eligible for English as a Second Language courses and/or computer and parent education classes. All parents of Great Start students will also be required to participate in the weekly Parents and Children Together sessions.
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