ready, set, school
a cfc early learning success story
Intellectually, Andrew was ready for school. In fact, when he was four, he passed the exam for early entrance into kindergarten.
But was he “school ready”? That, it turned out, was going to take a little bit more work.
When it came time to enroll Andrew and his younger sister Mari in a preschool program, the choice for their father Kurt was obvious: CFC’s Wade Early Learning Center.
Kurt and many of his family members had attended Wade when they were preschoolers. He wanted his children to experience its program and people too. Two-year old Mari adapted to the program right away.
However, Andrew—although twice her age—was clearly having a much harder time adjusting to his new environment.
Andrew, who never had an easy time dealing with separation or change, was almost inconsolable when his parents would drop the siblings off at Wade. Kurt and his wife were always worried to leave him, and his teachers said that Andrew would cry and run out of his classroom.
“I told Andrew he didn’t have to worry about anything at Wade,” Kurt said. “These are the same teachers that took care of me when I was his age.”
But, it was going to take some time and teamwork to convince Andrew that he’d be okay. Thankfully, the experienced team at Wade was up for the challenge.
“We spent a lot of time working with him, making sure he felt safe and getting him to talk through his frustrations,” said Ms. Johnson, Andrew’s current teacher. “We kept reassuring him that he could do well in school,”
It has taken a while for Andrew to believe it, but he has come a long way. One morning not too long ago, Ms. Johnson knew Andrew had turned a corner when she asked him to put away his toys. Ms. Johnson braced herself for a negative response from him, but he simply replied, “Okay Ms. Johnson,” and put away his things. Andrew even helped Ms. Johnson gather the other children to begin their morning session.
These days, Andrew is five years old and excited about school. “I like coming to Wade; I can play and draw and read here,” he explained. Andrew is a positive contributor and content, comfortable member of his classroom. When Andrew does get upset, he now has the tools to talk through his feelings instead of fleeing the classroom.
“We are very proud of how far he’s come,” says Gloria Allen, Wade’s manager. “Whenever you go into his classroom, he lets you know, ‘I’m here and I’m doing a good job!’”
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