Lancaster Primary School and Kids First recognized that some children needed an extra boost to be successful in school. High quality early preschool classes for 3-year-old children began in 2012.
That first class has now completed third grade. The test scores for those children and the test scores of each additional class thereafter in both Lancaster and Middlesex have proven that the concept works. The well-studied gap in academic performance, a gap that usually persists throughout their school years and beyond, has been closed for these children, according to Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of the Rappahannock Kids First Foundation president Tom Kinney.
Parents complete applications in April at the public schools for their to-be 3-year-olds so teachers can interview the children in May or June to see which ones might need the extra boost in school readiness. Classes start in September.
Some 141 kids have now graduated from the Kids First program in Lancaster and Middlesex and both parents and students are proud of how well they have done…
