NORWOOD, N.J.—Norwood Public School’s first-ever pre-kindergarten class—which began with the new school year last week—will be better prepared for future educational and enrichment experiences in the district thanks to an engaging curriculum centered on social, emotional and literacy learning, district Director of Special Services David Roth told Northern Valley Press.
Roth, entering his second year with the district, thanked administrators and elected school trustees for supporting the initiative, which involves 11 students, between 3 and 5 years old, in a full-day program from 8:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., staffed by one certified pre-school teacher and two teacher aides.
“We’re going to be using the curiosity curriculum; it’s a really fun curriculum,” said Roth. “It matches the goals of the district; it talks about social and emotional learning and there’s a big literacy component as well, which are two of the things that Norwood Public School looks to foster amongst our students.”
The program is open to borough residents and mirrors efforts around other Northern Valley Regional High School District sending communities to establish pre-K programs in recent years.
“We saw the need in the community for it,” said Roth.
As an integrated program, the new class is composed of tuition-based students and students eligible for speech and language services. Roth said students receiving speech and language services will benefit from this “get-to-know-you year,” allowing educators to be more effective in kindergarten and years to come.
Roth had special thanks for the Norwood Parent Teacher Organization, which installed a pre-K-sized playground for the school’s newest and youngest students, calling the group “incredibly supportive.”
Superintendent Lisa Gross thanks school professionals for initiating this program.
“Dr. Roth and the other administrators have been very instrumental in getting this program off the ground by researching other programs, advertising, finding the right teacher, and the right support staff,” said Gross.
