BPS launches new Play to Learn group program for young students

BOSTON - Superintendent Michael Contompasis today sat in on a session of the Boston Public Schools Countdown to Kindergarten "Play to Learn Group," an innovative new program for children, ages 1- to 3-years-old, and their families, which is held at the Hennigan Elementary School in Jamaica Plain. The initiative is designed to begin the education of students and engagement of their families at a younger age.

The Play to Learn Group is a collaborative effort among Countdown to Kindergarten, the Boston Public Schools, the Family Nurturing Center of Massachusetts and ReadBoston and is funded by Children's Hospital Boston.

"The Play to Learn Group concept is an excellent expansion on the district's effort to engage Boston's families with young children and encourage their partnership in their child's education right from the start," said Superintendent Contompasis. "We are delighted to host these groups, both in terms of extending learning opportunities to our youngest children and by providing the necessary parent supports critical to the role of parent as a child's first teacher."

The Play to Learn Groups, hosted by the West Zone Early Learning Center, are open to local Jamaica Plain and Roxbury families and are held four times a week, including morning and evening sessions. Parents, grandparents and other primary caregivers are encouraged to participate in the programming, where they will spend time with their children learning about the importance of play in the learning process, developing children's motor skills, reading, and promoting social skills necessary for school readiness.

"We are excited to be a part of this cutting edge development in the Boston Public Schools," noted Shari Nethersole, Medical Director for Community Health at Children's Hospital Boston. "The goals of the playgroup tie directly to a core component of our mission at Children's: to enhance the health and well-being of the children and families in our local community. When families participate in programs like this play to learn group, they are directly supporting their child's healthy development. It also helps connect them to ideas and resources about education, health and well-being, while at the same time building social networks that are critical to parents' ability to nurture and support their families."

The pilot program complements the district's efforts to strengthen and expand early childhood education. In 1998, Boston became one of the first districts in the state to offer guaranteed full-day kindergarten to every five-year-old in the city. In recent years, the district has focused on kindergarten for four-year-olds (K1), expanding from only 700 K1 seats in 2004 to more than 1,700 by next September.

The Play to Learn Group is a new initiative from Countdown to Kindergarten, a citywide collaboration now in its seventh year, which works to strengthen early learning opportunities as well as support and celebrate the transition into kindergarten. To learn more about Countdown to Kindergarten or the Play to Learn groups, please visit: www.countdowntokindergarten.org.

The Boston Public Schools serves approximately 57,000 pre-kindergarten through grade 12 students in 14