PITTSBURGH — With the start of the 2015-2016 school year to begin in days, many students, parents and teachers are preparing to take on another year of learning.
However, for one rather large group of kids, the first day of school will be something fresh.
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As hundreds of kids are set to pour into the halls of Pittsburgh’s Carmalt Acadamy Monday, Kindergartners will find themselves in a sea of students.
“I want them to know they are in a very safe environment from the very beginning,” said Dr. Sandra Och, principal of Carmalt.
For years, kindergartners had been on this principal’s mind as Och continuously thought of ways to seamlessly help integrate kindergartners and their parents for day one.
As a result, “Step Together!” was formed. Step Together is a Title I funded, week-long, day program for kindergartners and their parents to get acclimated to school before the big day.
“Even though many of the kids have gone through a pre-school experience, we wanted to help in whatever way we could,” Och said.
So she took her idea to Pittsburgh Public Schools for approval, which she received.
“I couldn’t thank superintendent Linda Lane and assistant Kevin Bivins enough. They believed and had faith through this process,” Och said.
Now, the program is seeing growth and is in its fifth year. Caterina Molinaro, a student counselor at Carmalt, has been one of the leaders of Step Together camp. She thinks the secret to teaching kindergartners is to keep them engaged.
“We have to keep them going,” Molinaro said. “Five-year-olds in 2015 aren’t like they were when we were growing up.”
Dr. Och, veteran teacher and principal, created Step Together because she believed it would help alleviate some anxiety for parents, teachers and students on the first days of school and beyond.
“It is extremely important that the teachers reach out and see, ‘Who are the outliers? Who are the children sitting by themselves?’ It is the teacher’s job to make sure that every student being feels valuable in their classroom,” Och said.
While Dr. Och may be the principal, Step Together isn’t a one-man show.
“That’s why it’s called Step Together,” Och said. “I couldn’t do any of this without my team.”
Kathleen Hart, a paraeducator and Ned Twyman, a kindergarten teacher, are also involved in Step Together this year. They all believe that they key to raising successful students is to make them feel loved from day one.
“I have been lucky to have compassionate teachers involved in this process with me,” Och said.
As Pittsburgh Public Schools kicks off its school year, Och knows her kids are ready to learn.
“These kids are capable of doing anything that any child in any outlying school district can do,” Och said. “They know who cares about them and the heart shows through.”