Getting Kids Ready to Learn

Jump Start Pre-Kindergarten Programs supported by the Learning Community are increasingly successful in helping children be prepared to learn. Programs vary from three intensive weeks in the summer to a full school-year. After a successful first year, OPS expanded its programs from 7 schools and 156 students to 43 schools and nearly 900 students in the 2011-2012 school year.

How successful is Kindergarten Jump Start? For the students, most significantly behind their peers at the start of the program, evaluators reported gains in a single summer session, equivalent to as much as two years' worth of learning.                                                         

Learning Community program evaluators use a continuous improvement model to make strong programs even better. Evaluators test student ability at the beginning and the end of program and share student data with teachers. With positive feedback, teachers can make changes to meet student needs without delay.

Dr. Lisa St. Clair of UNMC's Munroe-Meyer Institute talks about the impact of the Learning Community Kindergarten Jump Start in three metro area school districts. WATCH

Program results show students enter kindergarten more ready to learn and with more confidence in their ability to learn. Ninety-six percent of parents told Learning Community evaluators that their children would be more successful in kindergarten as a result of the program.