The Natomas charter school best known for its 6th to 12th-grade and homeschooling programs is adding kindergarten to its repertoire for the 2010-11 year.
School officials say this “transitions” program will be housed on Natomas Charter School’s P.A.C.T. campus, but is not a home school kindergarten program.
Natomas Charter will offer kindergarten in two half-day sessions – one in the morning and one in the afternoon – serving approximately 48 students in all. Currently there is a wait list to enroll in the new classes.
“It will feature thematic based instruction and hands-on learning while utilizing a non-prescribed curriculum; however, like all Natomas Charter School programs, state standards will be adhered to but a great deal of flexibility will be given to teachers regarding their instructional approach,” coordinator Anita Tong said.
The new kindergarten classes are a “transitional program” created by Natomas Charter School as an alternative to the traditional K-5 grade model.
“There are numerous parents confronted with placing their child into a public school for the first time,” said Tong. “Many of these parents are not quite prepared to enroll their child into a traditional public school with large class sizes in addition to a large school population.”
Natomas Charter School officials say the new program buys parents another full year to make a more informed decision on enrolling and transitioning their child into first grade.
“Many parents have expressed interest in expanding to additional grade levels but we are only focusing on developing the kindergarten program at this time,” said Tong.
Speak Your Mind
You must be logged in to post a comment.