The public got their first chance to see and touch the curriculum being considered for the Pre-K 4 SA early childhood education measure.
Four programs are on the table for consideration by the Pre-K 4 SA curriculum committee, including options from Pearson Publishing’s OWL (Opening the World of Learning) and Scholastic , but first they wanted to see what people thought of the materials.
"This curriculum will morph," said pre-K consultant Eleanor Elder, who is working with the committee to determine what will be used in the classroom. "When the sheetrock goes up and the kitchen goes in and the decorating happens, and this curriculum will morph into something that, you know, badda bing, it's going to be wonderful."
Elder said it’s possible that they won't stick to just one program and instead will use a combination of each to build the curriculum.
But Elder said she believes the materials are only part of what makes learning for children great. It’s the teacher, she said, who makes it come to life.
"That's when you will see tremendous innovation occurring," she said.
Pre-K 4 SA board members, including Pamela Ray, who is District 2 Councilwoman Ivy Taylor’s appointee, walked around the tables to talk to parents and teachers looking at the curriculum.
Ray has a background in early childhood education and said she’s impressed with the amount of materials available now.
"When I went to school it was OK - you do this, you do that," she said, "but now you have a variety of resources available and you get to look at what's best not just for a group of children, but what's best for the individual child."
The curriculum will be ready by mid-May so that teachers can have time to get acquainted and trained with the study guides.
- More information about Pre-K 4 SA is available online at: sanantonio.gov/Pre-K4SanAntonio.aspx
