Schools across the nation are becoming more sensitive to the needs of kindergartners who are starting school for the very first time. It can be a traumatic time for little ones who may never have been separated from their parents, never been in a group of people they don’t know in a strange place or don’t have the skills needed to navigate all the demands put on them in those first few weeks.

To alleviate some of the anxiety that surrounds this all-important day, schools have come up with many different approaches. For the past five years, Northampton Area School District has been offering a class on kindergarten readiness that runs on a first-come, first-served basis at both Siegfried Elementary School in Northampton and George Wolf Elementary School in Bath.

The class was 8:30-11 a.m. July 17-20 this year because of timing and staff, but normally NASD runs it right after the school year ends.

“It’s an opportunity for parents to bring their children into school for two-and-a-half hours, and we introduce them to those kindergarten readiness skills like drop-off, pickup, standing in line, following directions and becoming comfortable with the school environment,” Nicolette Teles, curriculum supervisor for grants and special programs, said.

She said it gives the kids a chance to acclimate in a much smaller setting, where there aren’t so many unfamiliar faces. Superintendent of Schools Joseph Kovalchik and Teles wanted to highlight the program this year because they’ve been getting such positive feedback.

Because the district has been able to use Title I funding for the program, which makes it free of charge for families to participate, they wanted to do an evaluation this year. The results revealed how pleased both parents and children are with the outcomes of the classes.

“I’m incredibly grateful for this program and know that other children and families could greatly benefit from it in the future” was only one of the many positive comments they received.

Teles says a huge hallmark of Title I funding is family involvement because it has been shown that the more involved a family is in their child’s education, the more likely that child is to succeed. Her favorite part is when, at the end of the program, the parents come into the school and get to meet the teachers and hear about their child’s progress or anytime the parents come in to show support for their child’s learning.

“You see the kids’ faces light up, and the parents are so happy to be there,” she said.

These classes, though geared for all kindergartners, may be especially useful to families of students who have special needs, those with Individualized Education Programs and others who might struggle with the transition into school. Teles said they were able to get in touch with many of those families and almost all of them signed up.

All in all, the program served 60 families this year, and administrators hope to expand it to help more next year.

“We may need to advertise it more and make sure we’re reaching those that might be on vacation or coming into the district late or, for some other reason, just didn’t hear about it,” Teles said. “When you have parents who are new to the district, and this is their first child they’re releasing into the world, into the school, it really helps when you have a program like this that welcomes them into the district and you build those relationships because that’s what it’s all about - building positive relationships.”