In kindergarten, students begin very basic curriculum in all subjects, including science, social studies, and the arts; but the most important academic topics will be literacy and math, which underly everything else to come.

• 10 Things About Kindergarten Every Parent Should Know
• What Happens in Kindergarten?

In Texas, children can enter kindergarten if they are five years old on or before Sept. 1 of the year in which they begin kindergarten. LISD supports the position that all children have a right to attend kindergarten if legally eligible by age. Parents who are weighing the advantages and disadvantages of delaying their child’s entry into kindergarten may find this article from the National Association for the Education of Young Children to be of use. It is the responsibility of LISD to provide an appropriate kindergarten environment in which all children can develop, no matter at what stage they enter. Your child is welcome!

 Additional Helpful Links

• Important Milestones: Your Child by Five Years via the CDC with examples, either a video clip or photo, for almost EVERY skill on the CDC’s list
• Kindergarten, Here We Come
• 4 Things Kindergarten Teachers Want You to Know
• Readiness, Not a State of Knowledge, But a State of Mind

Research shows that reading aloud is the best way to prepare children for learning to read. Reading helps your children develop language skills that they will use in school and throughout their lives. Through books, your children can learn about a world they have not yet experienced and dream about worlds that do not exist.

Reading together is also a time to develop a close relationship with your child. You can laugh together at the silly sounds or antics in a story. You can share the anticipation waiting to what will happen on the next page. Having fond memories of reading together will be special to both you and your child as the years go by.

• Picture books are favorites of young children as the illustrations help them make sense of what they are hearing.
• They also enjoy rhyming poetry and stories with repetitive lines.
• Children enjoy predicting what will happen next.
• They will let you know which ones they like as they ask to hear the same story over and over again. Hearing a story repeatedly helps children understand and appreciate the basic structure of stories so they can apply it to future tales encountered.
• Ask your child questions and comment on his/her responses. In that way, you'll learn more about what your child is thinking and extend the joy of reading time together!

Resources:

• Articles for Families on Literacy from NAEYC
• 7 Tips for Reading Aloud to Kids
• Choosing a Child's Book
• 100 Books to Read Before Kindergarten

Children enter school with a variety of experiences and skills. Kindergarten teachers look for ways to support and nurture potential while challenging each student according to his/her needs. Enrichment in kindergarten occurs in many ways, including but not limited to:

• Planned experiences by teachers trained in strategies for promoting creativity and critical thinking
• Dual language or Spanish Immersion experiences which include learning academic content in Spanish as well as English. This program may be selected by parents of any LISD kindergartner even if the program is not offered at the home campus. See the LISD Dual Language or Spanish Immersion website for additional information.
• Grade level acceleration - Parents may request that a child who will be five years old on or before September 1, 2019 be admitted into the first grade (rather than kindergarten). Please review the Stages of Development document for information about the long-term implications of acceleration.

The process for requesting acceleration is detailed below:

• Parent registers their child for kindergarten at their home campus.
• Parent meets with the elementary school counselor, reviewing the Stages of Development document and acceleration process. If the parent is still interested, the counselor will give an application to the parent.
• Parent completes an application for acceleration and returns it to the Early Childhood office with a copy of the child's birth certificate and a copy of the front of the child's enrollment card. Applications will be available in April from the elementary school counselors. The parent will be contacted to schedule an appointment for acceleration testing.
• An appointment for the acceleration examination will be set for April/May/June for students who register in the Spring. Those registering for kindergarten during the summer may apply for August acceleration testing. August testing will be scheduled as applications are processed.
• At the appointment, the assessments described below are given. If a child scores below the required level on any test, the evaluation will be discontinued.
  • The Gesell Developmental Observation (Revised) – This is an internationally normed test to assess a child’s level of maturity. It is a performance test, not a test of knowledge or skills. The tasks performed are rated in accordance with observed behaviors and compared to the performance exhibited by the predominance of students at predesignated ages. More information is available at www.gesellinstitute.org. The required performance on the Gesell to qualify for Kindergarten Acceleration is that all scores cluster at age six.
  • The Iowa Test of Basic Skills. This assessment is used to evaluate a child's experiences with language, reading and mathematics. The Iowa Test of Basic Skills is a nationally normed test used throughout the country to evaluate student’s academic readiness levels. The required performance on the ITBS is the 90 percent or above on the language, reading and mathematics portions of this test battery.
• The above test results determine whether placement in first grade is appropriate. Based on the test results, the Early Childhood office will make the recommendation to the child's campus and notify the parents. This decision is final with no appeal process.