Preschool students make academic melodies during summer

August 2, 2024

Dozens of Lincoln Public Schools students composed academic melodies this summer by taking part in noteworthy preschool activities.
 
Approximately 100 preschoolers gained a glimpse of what their days will look like during the upcoming 2024-25 year. The ability to build relationships with fellow students and the instructional support from many LPS staff gave them a valuable head start in their educational journeys.
 
LPS Director of Early Childhood Cara Lucas-Richt and LPS Preschool Coordinator Jackie Gunia said summer preschool has created many harmonious results for students and families. Classes took place at five elementary schools this year for three weeks in June and two weeks in July.
 
“I feel like we’ve gotten good feedback from families who have had their children start in the summer,” Lucas-Richt said. “They like it because it’s not all summer, so it gives them a little opportunity to experience a taste of it. Sometimes families are really nervous about their young children coming to preschool, which is normal, and this helps them get to see it in the summer on a smaller scale. Families say that helps ease their mind when they start back up in August.”
 
“It’s a shortened version of their preschool day during the school year,” Gunia said. “There are smaller class sizes in the summer, so they get more one-on-one time with adults: choice time, meal time, playtime. It’s been really good.”
 
Gunia will begin her second year as the school district’s preschool coordinator this fall. She taught preschool classes for four years at LPS before stepping into her current position. She said that classroom knowledge has been valuable.
 
“Part of my role for summer preschool is doing a lot of the planning and preparation for the teachers,” Gunia said. “Having that experience in the classroom helps me know what works best for everyone. What are going to be things that I can put in place to be most successful for the teachers and also provide the highest-quality level of learning for students? That’s the goal with everything we do for our preschool program.”
 
Lucas-Richt said she was appreciative of the high level of care and concern staff members showed each student this summer. Each of the ten preschool classrooms included two teachers and two paraeducators, and speech-language pathologists each worked with children in two classrooms.
 
“In a class of 12, there are 12 different levels of needs that they’re focusing on,” Lucas-Richt said. “Yes, they’re all doing the same activity, but three kids may need certain adaptations and three kids may need other adaptations. Jackie isn’t writing just one lesson plan. There’s a lot of individualization that happens to support our kids.”
 
Classes this summer lasted for three hours each day and incorporated all of the elements found in preschool during the regular year. Students took part in both small-group and large-group activities in the classroom, and they learned about friendship and cooperation during recess time. LPS provided transportation services for students during the summer, and all children received breakfast at the beginning of the morning.
 
Gunia said it was intentional to have the same learning structure both in the summer and regular school year.
 
“We didn’t want it to be a big change for students who are coming into the preschool program,” Gunia said. “There are some children who are turning three this summer, so they’re jumping into the program, and that will carry over into the school year. We wanted to keep it similar this summer so it’s not as big of a transition for them this fall.”
 
Gunia said summer classes have also been beneficial for everyone leading them.
 
“I think it’s helpful for the teachers too,” Gunia said. “They’ll have a brand-new class of 20 3-year-olds starting right at one time this fall. When some of them are taking classes in the summer, it helps ease that transition for everyone so it’s not overwhelming. The kids know what to do in class and the teachers know their names.”
 
Lucas-Richt said summer preschool is only possible each year because of the dedication of people in many LPS departments. Early childhood, transportation, special education, health services, nutritional services and federal programs employees helped classes in many ways. They supported dozens of educators who gave preschoolers many chances to enjoy noteworthy moments in 2024.
 
“This would not be possible without our preschool team members who have stepped up to teach this summer,” Lucas-Richt said. “Whether it’s paras or classroom teachers or speech-language pathologists, this simply couldn’t happen without them. There are a lot of people who have worked hard to make this happen for kids and families.”

If you are interested in enrolling your child in LPS preschool classes for the 2024-25 school year, an application form is available at this link.
 
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