Launching from the Nest
By August, many of LaRue County’s citizens will have witnessed several rounds of local birds raising their young from egg to hatchling and the inevitable leap from the nest. At LaRue County Schools, our Hawks have been up to the same task as our youngest Hawks have been transitioning from Preschool On College Street (POCS) to Abraham Lincoln Elementary School (ALES and Hodgenville Elementary School (HES).
The first day of Kindergarten can be a lot for five- and six-year-olds. Many things are new, not the least of which is being in a school with the “big kids.” But for an easier transition, LaRue County Schools’ Preschool On College Street staff have been assisting kindergarten classes at ALES and HES during the first week of school.
Karen Ward, Principal at POCS, describes the moment she and her staff realized how important this was to incoming Kindergarteners: “On the first day of school, we saw students who were teary-eyed as they got out of the car or stepped off the bus, a little overwhelmed by the new experience. But the moment they saw their Preschool teacher from last year standing with their new Kindergarten teachers, they brightened up.”
In the district’s Strategic Plan, approved in December of 2019, one of the five key areas for improvement was “transition readiness”. This describes the ability of students to transition between schools as they move up in grades through graduating from LaRue County High School and successfully moving into their next chapter in life. Ensuring good transitions helps students improve academically, emotionally, and in their relationships with other students.
“At Preschool On College Street, we want our kids to be ready for Kindergarten when they graduate. It’s not just the ability to know their ABCs and 123s. It’s the ability to step into Kindergarten with firm footing, knowing they have the confidence to launch into the next chapter of their young educational journey.”
As any kindergarten teacher or assistant can attest, having extra hands available for the first week of school is immensely helpful. Ward echoed the words of LCS Superintendent Adryanne Warren on opening day for staff, “Like the vision we heard on opening day, we want to be a district all pulling in the same direction so that our students can be successful from their first step to their last with us as they graduation from LCHS.”