In a classroom of 4-year-olds Monday at Kid’s World Learning Center, one group of four children was working on writing their names, while another was working with numbers.
Whitne McDuffie, who has a degree in early childhood education from Georgia Southern University and has taught at Kid’s World for six years, praised the effort of one of her charges.
“Look at that ‘W’ William,” she said. “Much better.”
William is one of 16 children taking part in the five-week Summer Transition Program going on now at Kid’s World on Savannah Ave. in Statesboro.
The Transition Program is state-funded and Kid’s World is the only child care center in Bulloch County certified to be able to offer STP to pre-K children who need some extra help before they start kindergarten.
On Monday, Kid’s World owner Michelle Smith Lank gave State Sen. Billy Hickman a tour of the Learning Center’s campus and answered questions about how the state legislature can better assist serving the needs of early childhood education.
Elected in 2020, Hickman represents Senate District 4, which includes Bulloch, Candler, Effingham and Evans Counties and a portion of Chatham County.
Hickman is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Higher Education and he has taken a special interest in literacy and supporting programs like the Summer Transition Program to prepare more children to be successful students.
“To see the vitally important work in person that goes on at Kid’s World is the best way for me to learn what not only are the needs of Kid’s World, but other child care centers, as well,” Hickman said. “Michelle and her staff have created a remarkable campus that demonstrates how children learn in the right atmosphere and with the proper support.”
The Rising Kindergarten part of the Summer Transition Program is for children who “have not had a full year of Georgia pre-k, or they have been on a wait list or they come from another state or fall into several other categories,” Lank said. “Here, we have some children who we want to reinforce areas they need to work on so they don’t lose over the summer what they have been taught. We don’t want any of these children to fall through the cracks.”
Lank said the Transition Program is so effective because the class sizes are small enough to allow for even more one-on-one attention for children.
“The children in STP are working on their names, working on their numbers,” she said. “We want them to be ahead of where they are supposed to be. At the same time, we also understand all children are not on the same level and we work in the specific areas children need to get to a higher level.”
Hickman said he has seen the understanding grow among his colleagues in the General Assembly of the long-term benefits of supporting more resources for early childhood education since he arrived for his first legislative session in 2021.
“The evidence just gets clearer all the time that the earlier children start learning, the better chance they will be good students and good citizens,” he said.
The decision to fund the Summer Transition Program, Lank said, is an example of how the state can continue to help the programs at Kid’s World and child learning centers around Georgia create even more long-term success.
"This is the most crucial development time for mental acuity and parents are trusting us with their most prized gifts – their children,” Lank said.
“And it doesn’t just start with these 4-year-olds in STP. We have an infant room with specific lesson plans and activities. When children begin in the Kids World program and they get to pre-K, they already have a foundation set. They will do well.”