SAN DIEGO -- The La Mesa Spring Valley School District is teaming up with child psychologists to help bridge the gap between preschool and kindergarten.
Robin Walter said she has seen great changes since her daughter, Genevieve, joined the Spring Valley preschool class staffed with child psychologists.
"She knows her alphabet. She knows how to add. She knows all of her numbers. It's incredible," Walter said.
But Genevieve is learning another important lesson that will prepare her for kindergarten. The focus of the preschool classroom is on more than just the academics of learning -- children are given activities designed to help them improve their social, emotional and behavioral skills.
The La Mesa Spring Valley School District teamed up with Therapeutic Services, Inc. to bring evaluators into each preschool classroom. After observing how well students perform simple tasks, they then work to improve the children's focus.
Dr. Marty Giffen works for Therapeutic Services, Inc. and said too many children are not socially and emotionally ready for kindergarten.
"Ask any kindergarten teacher how much time they spend intervening, asking kids to keep their hands and their feet to themselves, or sometimes behaviors that are even more extreme than that," Giffen said.
Those tasks take away from learning time for the entire class, Giffen added.
"After a year of special programming and targeted interventions and support to both the classroom and home, we're pretty confident that we're going to show some real gains in both social emotional readiness," Giffen told 10News.
Walter said she has already seen changes in Genevieve after just a few months of preschool.
"Her listening has gotten better. She likes to help around the house -- help me out with making dinner, cleaning up and getting her brothers ready for school," Walter said.
Therapeutic Services, Inc. also offers parenting courses that teach parents how to catch bad behaviors before they become a big problem.
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Preschool Class Focuses On Emotional, Mental Growth
