Early Childhood Education
Gayla Nida, Executive Director of Elementary Education, 918.259.5700
Four-Year-Old Program
From infancy on, young children need opportunities to develop large and small muscle skills, help in learning to get along with other people and guidance in coping with their feelings.
A successful Four-Year-Old Program considers how young children learn. The following principles are used to create a curriculum and environment that is stimulating, relevant and responsive to each child:
• Young children learn most easily when the curriculum is developmentally appropriate.
• Young children learn most easily when they are actively involved in real experiences.
• Young children learn most easily through play.
Kindergarten Program
The Board of Education approved free full-day kindergarten for every Broken Arrow Public Schools kindergarten student beginning in the 2004-2005 school year. All 14 elementary schools offer free full-day kindergarten for their kindergarten students.
A full-day kindergarten program supports the increased academic expectations in reading and math required by No Child Left Behind, and also allows teachers to use more appropriate developmental approaches while providing more individualized attention. This free full-day kindergarten program offered to all kindergarten students in Broken Arrow Public Schools better prepares our students for first grade and beyond in their elementary education
Parents As Teachers Program
You are your child's first and most important teacher. Parents As Teachers (PAT) will help you better understand your child's stages of development from birth to 3 years of age. PAT helps you observe your child's growth and provides you with age-appropriate information in the areas of language development, social development, intellectual development and motor development.
PAT is a home-based program designed to give children the best possible start in life and to assist parents in their role as the child's first teacher.
Broken Arrow Parents As Teachers Program offers these services:
• Personal Home Visits- A certified parent educator specially trained in child development and eager to help you better understand your child will visit you once a month to share specific developmental information and to model appropriate activities to do with your child during the years from birth to three.
• Group Meetings- Opportunities are provided during the year for you to share your experiences with other parents in the community to learn about topics of interest to you about your child.
• Developmental Screenings- Periodic screenings will be done with your child to ensure that your child has no undetected learning, sensory (vision and hearing) or developmental problems.
• Play Groups- Opportunities for you and your child to "play" together in out OPAT classroom. Games and activities will be planned by the Parent Educators.
For more information about the PAT program, please email Jana Thompson at jbthompson@baschools.org.
