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Grant money directed toward increasing school readiness

By Natalie Bruzda nbruzda@heraldstandard.Com 3 min read
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Hunter Addis (from left), Eric Smith and Jahtir Swinson concentrate on making their gingerbread houses at Masontown Elementary.

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Amanda Steen | Herald-Standard

In the photo above, Cayden Groppi licks icing off his hands after making a gingerbread house at Masontown Elementary. The activity was part of a school-readiness initiative funded by the Pennsylvania departments of Public Welfare and Education. Below, students craft the tasty houses.

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Students make gingerbread houses at Masontown Elementary as part of a school-readiness initiative funded by the Pennsylvania departments of Public Welfare and Education.

Pre-kindergarten students in Masontown are becoming better prepared for learning at the elementary level thanks to a $70,000 grant.

In early October, the Pennsylvania departments of Public Welfare and Education announced that nearly $2.7 million in Early Childhood Education Community Innovation Zone (CIZ) grants had been awarded to 12 programs across the state. One of the grants is being directed toward Masontown Elementary and German-Masontown Public Library to deliver preschool, afterschool, and adult education programming to families in the Masontown area.

“The idea is to create greater alignment between preschool and elementary school programming,” said Laurie Bartolotta, planner/grants writer the Private Industry Council of Westmoreland/Fayette, Inc. “We identified Masontown Elementary as a site that needed targeted attention–just because there are so many negative factors that are stymieing school–and family–success there.”

Rene Despot, coordinator of the new initiative, said PIC has forged a strong partnership with both entities. Through the new three-year grant, PIC will be building upon existing collaborative efforts to increase school readiness and family engagement.

Some of the core components of the program will include bringing literacy-building strategies used at the elementary school into Head Start and Pre-K Counts classrooms serving kids in the Masontown area; bringing family engagement strategies used in PIC’s preschool programs into the elementary school setting; and helping families to learn together through special events and activities.

“The transition from pre-K to Kindergarten is actually a strong component, but it’s something that needs to continue to be strong,” Despot said.

PIC hopes to accomplish several goals over the next three years. One goal is to build birth to 3rd grade alignment.

“By introducing this curriculum to our pre-kindergarten classrooms in Masontown, we will increase school readiness and ensure that activities in the pre-kindergarten classrooms are more aligned with academic initiatives at the elementary school,” Despot said. “PIC’s early childhood staff will be able to use the same hand signals and terminology as elementary teachers, paving the way for a smooth transition between pre-kindergarten and kindergarten.”

PIC is also creating a buddy system, where preschool families will be matched with kindergarten families for visits to the elementary school.

Last week, pre-kindergarten students visited Masontown Elementary to partake in a gingerbread-house decorating activity.

“Any time the pre-K students will come into the school, we will buddy them up with older students for the activities,” Despot said. “Prior to this, the only time the students get to visit the building is in May, and during Kindergarten registration. So this will allow us to get the families and children in the building as much as possible, which will increase that exposure.”

In the near future, families will be invited to the school for a “Learn with Me Lunch” session.

PIC will also host monthly a bed-time story activity at the German-Masontown Public Library to introduce family literacy stratgies.

“We feel honored to have received this grant,” Despot said.

Bartolotta agreed.

“It was an amazing group effort with lots of wonderful ideas, and lots of passion for helping families,” she said.

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