Pre-K and kinder teachers ready for a great year
Arlington ISD is very serious about its fun pre-K and kindergarten.
The new school year started for thousands of 3-,4- and 5-year-olds in Arlington ISD last week. But not for their teachers. The teachers have been preparing for this year for much longer.
“We are very serious when it comes to helping our teachers prepare for the school year,” said Dr. Jackeline Orsini, Arlington ISD director of early childhood learning. “We know that if we prepare and equip them with the right tools, our teachers will have a successful year and ensure our littlest learners receive the highest-quality instruction.”
That’s why professional learning for the district’s pre-K and kindergarten teachers is year-round.
“Preparing teachers is a job that starts as soon as the previous year ends,” Orsini said. “Throughout the whole summer, we have been delivering hundreds of professional learning hours to help teachers get prepared for the new year.”
And that’s also why the district’s pre-K and kindergarten teachers and teacher assistants all gathered earlier this month before school ever started for teacher training.
“The districtwide event is like the cherry on top,” Orsini said.
Many of the topics covered at the districtwide meetings were what you might expect. Topics like the program’s main goals, vision, critical components of the curriculum, early literacy and math and teaching social and emotional skills.
But this teacher training for pre-K and kindergarten teachers looked and sounded a little different than trainings for teachers of older grades. The energy was palpable – the same kind of energy that pre-K and kindergarten teachers bring to their classrooms every day. There was dancing, clapping and a whole lot of fun. Plus the teachers were dressed in bright colors to go along with the theme.
The theme for the three days of training was the movie “Trolls.” Orsini said they picked that theme because the movie represents what pre-K and kindergarten teachers are like.
“Our early childhood teachers are bold, vibrant, full of energy, fun, and they’re just a rainbow of talents,” she said. “They can sing, dance, act, draw, read, teach writing and integrate math and science all in the same lesson.”
While the teachers had fun at the training, the fun was purposeful. It was all about strategically preparing and inspiring teachers for the year to come.
“We’re all going to sing the same song, which is about making students feel welcome, making families feel part of the educational journey of their kids, providing high-quality instruction in everything we do, making sure we understand the needs of every single student and doing everything possible to meet those needs.”
Orsini was also intentional about including teacher assistants at the training.
“We recognize that our teacher assistants are fundamental in everything we do, and we value them,” she said.
By the time the three days were over, everyone was prepared for a great year.
“I’m very proud of my teachers and my team,” Orsini said. “I think that Arlington ISD has the best early childhood program because we take very seriously how we prepare our teachers with research-based information, tools and support they need. I know that what we deliver is high-quality.”
You can still register
Even though school started last week, it’s not too late to get your child into Arlington ISD’s pre-K and kindergarten. You can start the registration process online here. And if you have any questions about pre-K or kindergarten, feel free to reach out to the early childhood learning team at (682) 867-9418 or prekquestions@aisd.net.