Several early childhood educators and administrators have been meeting at the Greenville Higher Education Center this week to learn valuable tools to improve teaching efforts for Pre-K students.
The 2019 Early Childhood Education Bootcamp comprises two weeks of training offered to teachers that need to acquire 12 hours of approved early childhood coursework to teach in Pre-K classrooms. The boot camp training will also meet the requirements of professional development for administrators of pre-kindergarten classrooms. The training will offer insight to administrators and Pre-K teachers on the early childhood standards and to offer strategies for delivering effective and quality instruction to students. Special Education Directors will also be involved in the training.
The sessions are developed by the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) with partnership with North Mississippi Education Consortium. There are six locations in total across Mississippi being used for the two-week training, including Greenville, Olive Branch, Jackson, Starkville, Hattiesburg and Tupelo.
The Hollandale School District during their June 10 school board meeting announced several members of the school district would be attending the comprehensive bootcamp, which wraps up today.
Charlotte Hawkins, principal of T.R. Sanders Elementary, said she had been looking forward to the bootcamp and thinks it will be beneficial for everyone who attends.
“The bootcamp will be beneficial in helping administrators and teachers be aware of what is expected in an early childhood classroom,” Hawkins said. “Administrators will be responsible for ensuring that curriculum standards are being addressed and that the MDE guidelines are being followed in early childhood classrooms.”
Hawkins said the information learned at the bootcamp will be conducted and implemented every new school year.
Dr. Mario Willis, superintendent for Hollandale School District, said he believes the district has taken full advantage of this opportunity.
“It is our goal to fully meet the state’s requirements and give students a great foundation in early literacy,” Willis said. “Through this training, we are confident that our staff will gain additional methods to explore that will give students the foundation they need in order to learn and grow. It has been proven that students who master essential early literacy skills and are reading proficiently in the early grades are more likely to graduate high school and enroll in college. The elementary principal, exceptional education director, exceptional education teacher and two incoming Pre-K teachers are in attendance. We are confident that these leaders will bring back a wealth of information to arm our students with great learning experiences.”
