Jennifer Tempest Bova is public information specialist for Woodland Community Consolidated School District 50 and president of the Illinois chapter of the National School Public Relations Association.

Theirs was a literacy lesson with an interactive twist.

Donning pigtail braids, Jillian triumphantly walked up to the poster board to find the word that completed the sentence.

"Good job, kiss your brain," said her teacher, Allison Gnadt.

With a swift turn of her torso, Jillian walked proudly back to her seat and crossed her legs on the carpet.

Gnadt is one of two teachers at Woodland Primary School who is responsible for the success behind the "Kindergarten Plus" program. In its second year, Kindergarten Plus begins as an eight-week intervention designed to review and practice kindergarten skills. The Title I funded program allows students to attend an extended day of kindergarten in a district that does not currently offer a full-day kindergarten program.

Located in northern Lake County, Woodland Community Consolidated School District 50 is an elementary district housed in Gurnee and Gages Lake. With more than 7,000 students, it's the largest elementary district in Lake County and the seventh largest elementary district in Illinois.

All Woodland kindergarten students attend Woodland Primary School. The school currently offers a half-day kindergarten program with a focus on literacy skills. The Primary School also has classes for identified children, ages 3-5, who are in the Early Childhood and At-Risk programs.

Kindergarten Plus was introduced in November two years ago with the intent to offer additional support for those students whose scores on kindergarten readiness assessments placed them in the lowest 20 percent of student population at the Primary School. Student background is considered and often plays a key factor in student placement. Students enrolled in Kindergarten Plus attend their half-day kindergarten class and then attend Kindergarten Plus either in the morning or afternoon. Students are guaranteed a placement for eight weeks, then they are evaluated to determine how they have developed academically. Students needing additional support will continue in the program. No more than 15 students are enrolled in Kindergarten Plus at one time.

"The length of time a student stays in the Kindergarten Plus program is dependent on his or her individual developmental needs," said Gnadt, who is in her first year of teaching Kindergarten Plus. "Kindergarten is the foundation for building a house. If there are holes in the foundation, the house will fall down."

Peggy Makuch, who also teaches Kindergarten Plus, helped found the program. For her, the lessons are countless.

"I've learned a lot," she said. "I've learned what each child is bringing and thinking and what I can do to help that child grow to his or her fullest potential."

Makuch gives credit to Lori Casey, primary principal, Erin Landmeier, literacy specialist, and Susan Hansen, math specialist. They were instrumental in designing and structuring a program that supports students who need additional assistance with literacy skills, social skills and phonemic awareness.

Another instrumental group behind student success are parents.

"Building trust and a relationship with parents is critical," Makuch said.

Children eligible for Kindergarten Plus participate in the PAW (Phonemic Awareness @ Woodland) program, which is intended to assist those who are struggling with literacy. Children are given PAW bags, which include a storybook and accompanying literacy activities for parents to practice at home with their child.

"The PAW program is one link from the classroom to the home for parents to see what their children are concentrating on," Gnadt said.

Parent involvement is integrated throughout the Kindergarten Plus program. To begin, parents are invited to visit for a one-hour session split into 20-minute increments. Parents actively participate in a math and literacy lessons and attend a brief presentation from special area teachers focusing on skills like fine motor development or social interactions within the classroom. During this Parent Involvement Day, parents learn about and create two academic games with their child to use at home.

Debbie Bassier's son, Matthew, has been part of Gnadt's classroom since December.

"This was an opportunity we could not pass up," said Bassier who volunteers in her son's classroom.

For the past three months, Bassier has been able to see her son come alive as he continues to improve academically.

"He is happy and more confident," Bassier said. "He has made some huge strides."

Bassier is not the only parent who has seen an improvement in her child's academic performance. The results truly speak for themselves.

"The Kindergarten Plus program has been a rave success, as demonstrated by the significant achievement gains of the students enrolled in the program," said Joy A. Swoboda, Woodland CCSD 50 superintendent. "I'd like to recognize the efforts of Lori Casey and her staff for closing the achievement gap in programming to meet the needs of all our students."

New dimensions continue to be added to the Kindergarten Plus program. Oral language groups led by a speech pathologist have been incorporated into the curriculum. Once a week, a social worker meets with students to discuss social skills. In addition, students meet weekly with a literacy or math specialist. The program has also added an instructional teaching assistant who works with each student to reinforce individualized academic skills.

This team-oriented approach has become a key component of the program's success.

"We have another set of finely trained eyes and ears that are working with us," Makuch said.

Woodland Primary's Kindergarten Plus program is establishing itself during a time when the languages of differentiated instruction, Response to Intervention and other requirements surrounding the federal No Child Left Behind Act seem to be found echoing the hallways of most schools in America.

"I hope this is a program that Woodland Primary School will continue to have and one that parents will continue to learn about," said Matthew's mother. "It's just fantastic. The way I've seen my son change is incredible. He really has a skip in his step."

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