RSS'Superkinders' make up all-kindergarten school
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SUNNYSIDE -- Standing in the hallway, children clad in winter hats and jackets read words from flash cards held up by Rosalinda Dean.
"Have." "And." "Here."
The teacher's aide at Sun Valley Elementary School is satisfied.
"You guys are all superkinders," she says, smiling from ear to ear, as she gives them high-fives and sends them to the playground.
No matter who their teacher is, Dean and other aides give such quick-hit, hallway learning to all 427 students at Sun Valley, believed to be the state's second all-kindergarten public school. Those same words also hang as laminated tags from teachers' vests, adorn classroom doors and are written on cafeteria white boards.
"We say it when they go out to recess, we say it when they come in from recess," Dean says. "It's constantly. It's an all-day thing."
The flash card lessons are among many benefits of attending an all-kindergarten public school.
"They can do that because everybody is learning the same words," says Heidi Hellner-Gomez, the principal.
By opening the all-kindergarten school this fall, Sunnyside School District may be pioneering a new approach to what is often a child's first social experience outside the home. Proponents -- parents, teachers and administrators among them -- like the efficient use of space, the ease of teacher collaboration and the absence of bullying.
"Everybody works really well together," says Jerry Pulakis, the reading coach for all 20 of the school's teachers. "Everybody's kids are everybody's kids."
Sunnyside started the all-kindergarten program when district officials faced decisions about how to best use their new school on North 16th Street. The district didn't expect to receive enough matching funds from the state to build a cafeteria and gymnasium right away, both of which are necessary for a traditional K-5 elementary school.
So, the district put all the incoming kindergartners at three elementary schools -- Pioneer, Washington and Chief Kamiakin -- into Sun Valley. That gave the existing schools a little more elbow room and allowed some portables to be moved to Sunnyside High School, which is nearly full. Outlook Elementary School, situated about five miles west of town, kept its kindergartners, only because Sun Valley had no more room.
The district plans to leave Sun Valley as an all-kindergarten program for at least two years, says Rick Cole, district superintendent.
The Sunnyside district will ask voters in March to approve a bond to expand and renovate several schools. If it passes, Sun Valley will get a new kitchen and multi-purpose room for dining. Expansions even farther down the road may include a gymnasium.
Still, Cole and district leaders are open to keeping Sun Valley just for kindergartners.
Experts see pros and cons to the set-up.
"I can see some rationale for it," said Mary Seaton, director of early learning for the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. But "we've got to be paying attention on how they are moving from one (level) to the other."
Having kids all the same age fosters more cooperation and energy among staff, but the kids will have to adjust to a new school next year when they move to first grade. New research shows that transitions can set kids back in their development.
Also, teachers say there is value in interaction between different ages. For example, elementary schools often pair fifth-graders with kindergarten "buddies" for reading time.
"I miss the older kids," says Sun Valley teacher Suzie Rohde.
Other districts are watching to see how it goes. Officials at Pasco School District have contacted Seaton about starting their own all-kindergarten elementary school.
Parents seem to like it. Most consider the uniformity of age a benefit in and of itself.
Kindergartener Elissa Morehouse likes school so much, she insists on arriving early for breakfast every day, says her father, Michael Morehouse. He believes the fact that all the kids are her age contributes to that.
"They're not overwhelmed by the bigger kids," he says.
Christina Vidaurri says it allays her concerns of bullying for her son, Jacob, because there are no older students to pick on the new kindergartners. Even without bullying, a school full of older students can be intimidating for the new students, she believes.
Vidaurri says the school also gives first-time students a healthy sense of identity.
"It makes them feel like it's really their school, not everybody else's," she says.
* Ross Courtney can be reached at 930-8798 or rcourtney@yakimaherald.com.
Editor's note: This story has been appended to correct erroneous information that appeared in the originally published version.
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