When Coast Episcopal’s Head of School Jake Winter reached out to Melissa Flickinger to gauge her interest in teaching the school’s first transitional kindergarten class, Flickinger responded with a resounding “yes!”
The University of Southern Mississippi graduate has 13 years of experience in preschool and elementary education, with the last four as a preschool intervention teacher. During that time, Flickinger had been keeping a watchful eye on research coming from California and Texas, two states leading the nation in implementing a transitional year kindergarten program that she believed could fill a need she had recognized on the Coast.
Flickinger adds that her eagerness to accept Winter’s invitation to join his team also was influenced by having taught in the school’s 2004-2005 preschool program and, as a CES parent, watching each of her three children thrive at the school.
According to Flickinger, the T-K program is a tremendous opportunity for students to have a “bonus” year between preschool and kindergarten. In many cases, the student who benefits greatly from this bridge year has intellectual abilities that exceed their emotional maturity level, and Flickinger says she believes this extra year of social and emotional development will make a world of difference as her students face high school, college and beyond.
Parent Leah Watters says, “Our son, James, is in T-K this year, and we are delighted by the program. The topics of learning are so creative and relevant to their little minds. The enjoyable curriculum is teaching James to love learning, and the structured classroom environment, combined with topics of natural curiosity, invite him to love learning.”
With a base curriculum focused on STEAM (integrating science, technology, engineering, art and math), Flickinger also incorporates ASL (American Sign Language) and Spanish into the hands-on activities that encourage learning through play. In addition to the T-K class lessons, the students participate each week in “specials,” including art, music and science lab.
T-K curriculum is based on the needs and interests of Flickinger’s students and, accordingly, will change from year to year. The concepts, however, will be consistent.
Identifying a student who may benefit from the program is the result of assessments by the CES educators, who then follow up with conversations to gather input from the parents’ observations. Enrollment occurs once determination has been made by both the educators and the parents that this is the right decision to support the child.
For additional information, contact Coast Episcopal School at (228) 452-9442 or visit coastepiscopalschool.org.