A child’s education begins early, and Skamania School is excited to be a part of it as early as age 4.
Four year olds enjoy a variety of learning activities to help prepare them for kindergarten in the grant-funded transitional kindergarten program at Skamania School.
This year, Skamania was awarded a grant to continue to develop our transitional kindergarten (TK) program, a unique offering for Gorge families here in Skamania. The grant focuses on the implementation of a national program with multi-leveled systems of support (known as the pyramid model) to enhance social and emotional capabilities in young children.
The pyramid model includes building program capacity to equitably meet the needs of ALL children and families, family engagement, integrating early childhood best practices with infant mental health consultations, and using data-based decision-making and intervention monitoring, which has been shown to reduce the suspension rates of children in schools.
Through this grant, Skamania has hired a Family Resource Specialist to help foster communication and promote family engagement. We also work with a practitioner coach who will be supporting our teachers in their professional and classroom development to ensure the needs of all students can be met.