Thursday marked the start of the new school for the Santa Maria-Bonita School District, but for some of the youngest students, they were offered a bit of a head start before the first day of classes.
“For many years in Santa Maria-Bonita, we have acknowledged and seen a need for some of our students to ease into campus life. Particularly, we see this need with students who are first-time attenders to public school,” said Laurie Graac, director of teaching and learning supplemental program for the district.
According to the district, nearly a quarter of its kindergarten students begin school without any pre-school or formal education, making the transition to a busy campus especially challenging.
“They get to learn what it's like to ask to go to the bathroom. They get to learn what it's like to go through the cafeteria, pick up a tray, choose their entrée,” said Graac.
The program is held at select school sites and includes extra support from bilingual assistants, administrators and other campus staff.
“It's such a great opportunity, the Kinder Bridge program, right, because it really gets them familiar with our campus if they haven't been there before or just that small setting of less kids and not so many adults on campus while they're here,” said Sharon Ybarra, coordinator of supplemental programs.
The Kinder Bridge program is also designed to help students and parents start the school year with more confidence.
