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[quote=Anonymous]I am the Principal at Trinidad and I am happy to respond:

At Center City we focus on the development of the whole child: mind, body and spirit.  The focus is on facilitating student growth through a hands on approach to learning.  Students are challenged to grow and develop at their own pace in a language and print rich environment. Through differentiated instruction and small group work, students are challenged to work at their own pace.

The Pre-K program uses the Opening a World of Learning curriculum and we also incorporate the Reggio Emilia approach. Given the developmental needs of 4 year olds, our Pre-K program also focuses on social and emotional development with an emphasis on building character.  This is important because Pre-K is most children’s first introduction to a structured learning environment, and what they learn about what school “means” at 4 years old influences their approach to learning for years to come. So, yes, we do help our students to conceptualize their behavior, but we also ask them about how they feel every day – because these types of conversations are crucial to a 4 year old’s positive growth and understanding of self.

Please note, at Center City we do use data to measure student achievement and we don’t just talk about it in qualitative terms. To quantify student growth, we use both PALS and TEMA assessments for our Pre-K students. In our Winter PALS at Trinidad, for instance, when we gave our 20 Pre-K students the PALS assessment just one month into the school year (in October), 12 out of the 20 students already met the SPRING benchmark. We then retested those students who missed the benchmark in Fall, again in the Winter (in January), and only 2 students total were not yet at the spring benchmark. Essentially, by January of 2010, 18 out of 20 of our Trinidad Pre-K students had already met their spring assessment. I believe that the data shows that our Pre-K program is not only focused on discipline – but rather that our students are making great academic gains, even at the youngest ages. This data-driven understanding of the needs of all our learners is used at each of our campuses and I believe helps us succeed in our mission of developing the whole child.
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