Transitional kindergarten welcomes first students in New London

August 29, 2024 17:26 • Last updated: August 29, 2024 17:44

New London ― Wellness interventionist Ninon Guinassi stood with a clipboard just before 8:30 a.m. Thursday morning at a set of blue doors leading to the library at C.B. Jennings International Elementary Magnet School.

“There are transitional kindergarten students here,” she shouted to the crowd of waiting parents and students.

Not only was it the first day of school for the school’s preschool through fifth-grade students, but it was also the first day of the New London Public Schools’ transitional kindergarten program. Guinassi was helping parents register their children to make sure they were in the right place.

“I’m surprised I haven’t seen any kids cry yet,” she said as the line out the door thinned, “although some dads did cry.”

The program is designed to prepare young students for the next steps in their educational journey. A new state law effective for the 2024-25 school year changed a previous rule that stated children had to turn 5 by Jan. 1 to be eligible to attend kindergarten until Sept. 1. This delays the start of school for some students. The transition program is for those students.

Superintendent Cynthia Ritchie said there are currently two transition sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, that will accommodate a maximum of 36 students. Enrollment is ongoing and parents can see more information on the district’s website. The program aims to help students improve their pre-reading skills, early math and budding social skills before they enter a kindergarten classroom the following year.

Six years ago, Groton offered a similar program called “TK” at Thames River Magnet School. This year, the full-day program is expanding to four of the district’s five elementary schools.

On Thursday, 4-year-old Olivia McBrown, one of the students entering transitional kindergarten, stood timidly in line, sometimes hiding behind her mother, Natashanicole Borrero. As they waited, she asked questions about where she was supposed to go and whether her friends were already there.

“She didn’t even look back,” Borrero said as she watched her daughter enter the library. “It’s cold.”