Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Courtesy Photo: Logan preschool students enjoy lunch with their parent during the open house
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Logan preschool students enjoy lunch with their parent during the open house
QCS Senior Writer
Logan Preschool has returned to the New Mexico Pre-K Initiative to help students develop learning and social skills that will benefit them from the first day of kindergarten through their post-secondary school years.
The NM pre-K has expanded access to early childhood programs across the state to help children develop school readiness before entering kindergarten.
According New Mexico Public Education Department research, children who develop math skills before kindergarten tend to score higher in future reading and math assessments. Other research indicates that children who develop literacy and language skills before kindergarten are more likely to become proficient readers in the primary grades.
Statistics from the 2013-2014 Annual Pre-K show that 91 percent of children enrolled in the Pre-K showed measurable progress overall in kindergarten readiness and 91 percent showed measurable progress in their literacy skills.
Tucumcari and San Jon were participating in the Pre-K initiative when the report was compiled.
“We have seen a very noticeable development in the children enrolled in preschool with the use of the NM PreK program,” said Jan Filpi, Logan Preschool director.
Filpi said Logan schools opted to follow a different curriculum during the 2013-2014 school year. Logan Schools have now returned to the pre-K format, because it delivers more benefits, she said.
The pre-K initiative uses a play-based system of games and activities that engage the students and help them learn, said Viola Terry, who teaches four-year-olds in the pre-K program.
Terry said the pre-K system’s activities allow teachers to monitor the children’s mental, social and physical development.
Along with reading, writing, counting and problem-solving skills, the children also learn how to be part of a group and resolve conflicts, she said.
Terry said the initiative also calls for the active participation of parents and guardians. The program works along with the infrastructure of each child’s home life.
Filpi said involving the parents and guardians helps to instill a sense of community and having the parents participate improves the child’s early social and academic development.
An example was the preschool family celebration open house on Feb. 13, in which parents joined children for lunch and participated in some class work.
Filpi said the pre-K initiative appeals to each child’s interests, which makes it more likely the child will buy into the program and explore it. She said there is a higher chance of success if children feel like they have a part in their own learning.
Filpi said statewide, the the pre-K initiative participants have shown beneficial results as they continue their education.
Through the use of the PreK initiative the education department’s overall goal is to ensure children statewide have higher achievement test scores, repeat grades far less often, require less special education, have a substantially higher graduation rate and see an increased number of graduates choose to attend college.
The pre-K initiative is a voluntary program created by the Pre-Kindergarten Act of 2005 and is jointly administered by the Public Education Department and the Children, Youth, and Families De-partment.
