Lee pre-K students ahead of the class

Gloria Holton clapped her hands and shouted words of encouragement. But the small children before her looked more than a little perplexed.

It was their first time playing with a Hula-Hoop; still, they struggled enthusiastically to keep the giant, plastic ring continuously circling their waist.

"New things are hard," she told them, "but keep trying." Words to live by for those involved with the inaugural session of universal summer prekindergarten, where both educators and kids are experiencing growing pains.

State-funded voluntary prekindergarten, or VPK, is closing out its first year at Lee County schools, and by design many of its participants have never before set foot in a school setting. School districts throughout Florida are required to offer an intensive summer program for students who couldn't take advantage of VPK during the school year, when it is mostly offered through private day cares.

Like the school-year program, attendance was lower than expected, with 436 students showing up at Lee County Schools after 632 signed up. The district initially prepared to accommodate 800 or more at first.

But with more than 1,000 children attending in Lee, Collier, Hendry and Glades counties combined, the region has a higher participation rate than any other area, said Barbara Saunders, executive director of the Early Learning Coalition of Southwest Florida.

As for the students, Hula-Hoops were just one in a litany of firsts.

First time lining up.

First time counting.

First time waiting a turn — and raising their hand — before talking.

Teachers at the summer program say it all goes a long way toward getting kids ready for kindergarten.

"There was a big need for it," said Holton, who is teaching one of the summer VPK classes at Three Oaks Elementary. "We're seeing kindergartners coming in all the time who are way behind."

As she watched the kids at recess this week, Holton said it's easy for teachers to tell who has attended preschool before and who hasn't.

That's the reasoning behind voluntary pre-kindergarten. The result of a state-wide referendum in 2002, the state-funded program is open to all Florida kids and is intended to help them get on an even academic footing before school begins.

Students must be 5 years old by Sept. 1 to enroll in the summer program, which still has open seats in Lee County and runs through July 21. To enroll in next year's program, students must be 4 years old by Sept. 1. To download the pre-application or for more information, visit www.elcofswfl.org or call 267-4105.

But it's clear that the program hasn't reached everyone. Before summer VPK, about half of all eligible children in Lee and Collier counties had participated. While the school-year VPK was criticized for being too stingy — with funding for just three hours per day — some parents dropped out of the summer program itself because of its long hours. The 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. schedule in Lee is a by-product of the Legislature's 300-hour requirement.

It's not immediately evident when they settle down on the carpeted floor for a story, but the children in Katie Thompson and Kristen Slater's classroom keep on a tight schedule.

"It's like doing two days into one day," said Thompson, who teaches VPK during the summer and school year at Bonita Springs Elementary. "It looks like we're just sitting here and reading but it's a long day."

Every five minutes of the day is scheduled — even water breaks, naps and clean-up time — and kids are fed breakfast and lunch. That helps, teachers say.

"This is no more than a regular day in the life of a child," Saunders said.

Another barricade to participation is that transportation isn't provided. And many people still aren't aware that voluntary pre-kindergarten exists at all.

"I believe that some people don't know about those programs and they need to know," said Nora Robayo, a teaching assistant at the Three Oaks program.

But Saunders is optimistic participation will increase, both for the summer and school-year programs.

"We know a lot now that we didn't know this time last year ... I anticipate that next year a lot more people are going to know about this initiative," Saunders said.

When school begins in early August, the inaugural batch of 4-year-olds will be in kindergarten. And within months, Saunders said, there should be early results that show whether the state's new initiative worked.

Providers will be assessed on how their students perform, both in kindergarten screening as well as on pre- and post-program assessments. The scores won't directly affect children themselves, aside from placement in intensive programs for students who need extra help in reading, who have disabilities, or who don't speak English.

Florida kindergartners are already screened during the first month of classes to help teachers get a sense of how much knowledge they have in skills such as naming letters. They are classified as ready for kindergarten, getting ready or not yet ready.

Holton thinks her students will be prepared.

"They're reading. They're excited. They're ready to learn," she said.