Kinder-Camp, a kindergarten readiness program and collaboration between the Lockport City School District and the YWCA of Niagara Frontier, has been declared an “incredible success” by YWCA Vice President of Programs Mary Brennan Taylor.
The educational and recreational program between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays, was enacted this summer as a free program to give kids going into kindergarten the skills they needed to succeed.
In a recent presentation to the school board, Taylor and Debbie Rogalski, the YWCA Children’s Services director, told trustees that teachers were seeing that many of their students did not posses even the most rudimentary knowledge needed for kindergarten. This included math and literacy, as well as social-emotional skills and, in some cases, potty training.
The program ran between the Fourth of July and mid-August.
Outcomes from the program showed gains between pre-program to post-program test taking. 17% more of the students were able to recognize capital letters. 6% more recognized lowercase letters and 10% more could write letters. 10% of the students were able to recognize their name written down and 15% more were able to write their names.
In math, the story was much the same with 23% more being able to count to 30. 18% were able to mirror action where if teachers picked up two blocks, the student could also pick up two blocks and know what “two” meant. There was an increase of 9% of students who could discern simple patterns.
“Pink, pink, blue, blue, pink, pink. They knew that pattern,” Rogalski said.
What was also apparent from the kids’ experience were the strides in social-emotional skills. 7% more of the students were able to follow multi-step directions, Rogalski said. 7% more were able to play well with others. 11% more were able to control emotional impulse. Coping with not getting their way was one of the skills learned by students at Kinder-Camp.
Taylor said that much of the gaps in student’s learning can be directly tied to the COVID-19 pandemic. She noted that the kids in this year’s summer program were 4 years old and had been socially isolating for two years.
“They have no experience with being with their peers,” Taylor said. “That’s a challenging situation for a toddler or a preschooler.”
However, through worried parents and anxious kids, the program showed exponential success, Rogalski and Taylor said. At first many of the students were going home after lunch, Rogalski said, which provided to students. As the program progressed, nearly all 50 participating kids were staying until 5 p.m. and wanting more. The difference, she said, was tangible and Taylor agreed.
“It’s what we can’t exactly measure. The socio-emotional learning that made the kids hit the ground running,” Taylor said.
