The decision of when to start kindergarten is tougher than it used to be. With more stringent academic requirements than when today's parents were of kindergarten age, it can be difficult to know whether your child is ready. Heeding the call to provide an option for education after preschool but before kindergarten, the Lamphere Schools district has created a Juinor Kindergarten program beginning in the 2019-2020 school year.
“This program is designed for students who would benefit from a two year kindergarten experience,” said Jane Jurvis, Lamphere’s Director of Curriculum and Instruction. “The curriculum is a play-based, learn-by-doing approach, involving more active learning than the traditional kindergarten program, allowing students the ‘gift of time’ to enhance their social, self-monitoring, fine motor and academic skills.”
The program is a full day schedule and will follow the same school calendar as all other Lamphere schools, with the same start and end times as our elementary schedule: 8:30 am to 3:28 pm.
Students who meet the state’s entry eligibility standards with a birthday on or before September 1 are eligible. Students who have a birthday between September 1 and December 1 of the same school year may also enroll with a parent-signed waiver. Like the traditional kindergarten program, the Junior Kindergarten program is of no cost to families.
Confused about whether this program is a good fit? The district has a helpful flow chart: http://lamphereschools.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_61419/File/Enrollment/Lamphere%20Best%20Placement%20revised%20March%202019.pdf
For more information or to apply for Junior Kindergarten, contact the district at (248) 589-1990 ext. 2002 or visit their website: http://lamphereschools.org/Kindergarten/junior_kindergarten
