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Duke Helps Local Kindergarteners Take Their First Steps into School

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Young students at Y.E. Smith Elementary received a head start at school through "Stepping Stones." Photos by Eric O'Neil.

Small, nicely dressed kids walk single-file into a gym filled with parents and teachers. It’s a common sight, one repeated many times during a school day. But for these children, it’s a “stepping stone” to something they’ve never experienced.

Sponsored by the Duke Office of Durham and Regional Affairs, Stepping Stones prepares rising kindergarten students who haven’t previously attended pre-K classes for the expectations they will face for the first time in school. The program recruits 90 incoming kindergarteners – 30 each at Forest View, Lakewood and Y.E. Smith elementary schools -- and pairs them with a teacher and teaching assistant for four weeks before the school year.

“They become familiar with the teachers, the school, the layout of the school and meet new friends,” said Anna Sanders, a Y.E. Smith teacher and a Stepping Stone instructor. She said the program is based on a research-based curriculum called Second Step, that “teaches them how to get along with others, how to express their feelings and also some of the readiness skills they need for kindergarten.”

The sessions wrapped up this month with “graduation” celebrations at each of the three schools.  At Y.E. Smith, each child was given a certificate and a backpack full of supplemental education supplies to go home with their parents and continue their learning. “Stepping Stones is just the start,” said Sanders to the parents at the school ceremony. “They all need to go home and continue to practice all their skills, but reading is key.”

“There’s also a heavy parent-involvement piece,” said Madeleine Ramsey, director of education initiatives for Duke’s Office of Durham and Regional Affairs. “Each site facilitates parent workshops, so they can come in and get to know the teachers, the environment and make the kindergarten transition more smooth for themselves.”

Throughout the ceremony, kids danced and sang along with educational videos as they showcased their new knowledge of the alphabet and numbers in front of their families. Every song’s end was met with loud, congratulatory applause from the crowd.

Reading is one focus of the program. Dorothy Atkins, a third-year teacher in the program, said incoming children usually aren’t taught their ABC’s nor the concept of print. “Here, they learn how to read a book, from left to right, and which cover of the book is the front, as well as spacing in letters,” Atkins said.

Anna Sanders at Y.E. Smith Stepping Stones
Anna Sanders talks to students at the Y.E. Smith Stepping Stones graduation ceremony.

But the learning goes beyond books.  Sanders said the program helps students adjust to a situation where they’re out of the home for the first times in their lives.

“They have difficulty expressing their feelings, being able to separate from their parents,” Sanders said. “Holding a pencil and using crayons are somethings you would think they have in the home, but often times they don’t. The same for listening and following directions.”

Stepping Stones has helped Y.E. Smith students for six years. “They should have universal preschool for kids, because it’s just amazing how they all come in at different levels,” Sanders said. “Some are ready for preschool, some are almost ready and some aren’t. It needs to be a level playing field for the students when they come.”

Adkins says the students leave Stepping Stones more socially and academically prepared for school.

“When these children return for the academic school year, they are much more advanced,” Atkins said. “They hit their reading level much faster, and we can address specific needs now, rather than spending a whole month figuring them out in the school year.”

Eric O'Neil is a senior at NC Central University who is interning this summer in Duke's Office of News and Communications