Recommended PreK4 curriculum for Somerset County Public Schools due for final vote

WESTOVER — Karen Karten, supervisor of Early Childhood Education, recommends the Somerset County Board of Education adopt Three Cheers for Pre-K as the new pre-kindergarten curriculum to start this fall.

Since January, preK4 teachers at Woodson, Princess Anne and Deal Island elementary schools have been using one of the three proposed curriculums — Three Cheers for Pre-K published by Savvas Learning Company, Connect4Learning published by Kaplan Early Learning Company and Frog Street published by a company of the same name and currently used by preK3 students.

“What we were looking for was a curriculum that aligned with all our early learning standards,” Ms. Karten said. Something comprehensive and “really strong” with early childhood literacy, math and was “friendly” for teachers and families.

Teachers completed a rubric and rated the curriculums based on several factors. Out of a maximum of 300 points Three Cheers totaled 281 with Frog Street second with 250 and C4L third at 235.

Ms. Karten said Three Cheers offered a script that a novice teacher could use but had flexibility for more depth when used by an experienced teacher.

“And it had an amazing parent component,” she said, with online games and books, which parents could access “in just about any language you could come up with,” which is important in a system that has students from families where English is not their first language.

Ms. Karten said math scored the lowest compared to the other choices, but she learned from the vendor that there was more material that was not accessed during the two-month pilot. This will be addressed during professional development over the summer if Three Cheers is chosen, she said.

The Board of Education last month moved through first reader her recommendation, with member Allen Ford absent. The package cost is $43,000 for a six-year license.

The board's second reader vote will be during the 6 p.m. meeting Thursday, May 16.

Ms. Karten said Somerset County was second in the state with the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment, “so it’s so important to get a comprehensive curriculum.” “We want to be number one next year.”