Think College Now, Oakland, CA
"Visiting TCN was a dynamic experience for me as a teacher and learner. The Kindergarten teachers used their PassageWorks time to build community, strengthen peer relationships, and give opportunities to children to be self-aware and express themselves authentically. The students were engaged in practices such as experiencing silence, using play to build connections and focus attention, and listening to and sharing with each other. I witnessed the students’ growing respect for individuality and interest in each other." -Carrie Simpson, PassageWorks Adjunct Faculty
In August 2008, PassageWorks launched a second urban pilot site in Oakland elementary school Think College Now (TCN)—a public school dedicated to “closing the achievement gap and giving all students an equal opportunity to attend college and pursue their dreams.”. The TCN student population is 73% Latino, 20% African-American, and 7% Asian-American. 68 % of the students are English Language Learners and 91% of students receive subsidized or reduced-price lunches. In August 2008, two TCN kindergarten teachers began implementing the PassageWorks First Steps curriculum in their classes. Professional development has included an immersion in the PassageWorks model through our Foundation Course and ongoing consulting with the PWI Kindergarten specialist through telephone, email and a site visit.
This school-based rite of passage program for children and families was first piloted in 2007 with four classrooms in a rural Missouri school with high rates of poverty and in three classrooms in Boulder, CO. Now serving 40-50 families in an urban setting, the PassageWorks-TCN project will give us essential feedback as we refine the Kindergarten curriculum for broad use with diverse populations of students.
"Curriculum focused on enhancing young children’s social and emotional development while being responsive to individual needs, abilities, and culture is at least as important as enhancing cognitive skills." — Sam Meisels, Early Childhood Expert
Excerpted from “The Early Word” newsletter produced by Northland Foundation, www.northlandfdn.org, Spring 2007