manheim township school district kindergarten

Queen St., and parked her crutches against the wall. for a GED class at Community Action Partnership, 601 S. Rodriguez had to take her to school after Immanuel boarded his bus for pre-K. One of Rodriguez’s daughters missed her bus to Conestoga Valley High School. It was a Wednesday morning in May, more hectic than usual. Lapp was a sounding board, a shoulder to cry on and the mentor Rodriguez never had. What Rodriguez didn’t expect was how supportive Lapp would become as she raised her children and studied to earn her GED diploma. Wanting help for her preschoolers, she sought out the home-visiting program Parents As Teachers, a key link in the P-3 continuum.

Their mother, Anna Rodriguez, 38, of East Lampeter Township, is single, unemployed and also raising two teen daughters.

This story is about the effort to create P-3 systems in Lancaster County and how a more intentional focus on early learning could benefit children like Immanuel and Gigi. “The achievement gap exists in kindergarten,” said Andrea Heberlein, a United Way staffer and P-3 advocate who oversees an education task force for the Coalition to Combat Poverty. It seizes on research about the young brain’s rapid development and how nurturing or, conversely, being deprived sets the stage for success or problems down the road. These findings have given rise to an initiative known as prenatal-to-third-grade, or P-3 for short. Because children in poverty fall behind more affluent peers at an early age, even pre-kindergarten can be too late to help them catch up. But some experts say more benefit may be gained by reaching even younger children and their parents. Head Start and other high-quality, preschool programs play a vital role in leveling the playing field for at-risk 3- and 4-year-olds. Joy Lapp, left, a Parent As Teachers home visitor, joins a group hug with Anna Rodriguez and her children, Gigi, 2, and Immanuel, 4, on Monday, May 14, 2018. Lapp is a government-funded family development specialist serving 16 families with young children, and her work exemplifies the latest thinking on how to strengthen low-income families, promote school readiness and disrupt intergenerational poverty. Grinning, he blocked the door, arms spread. When Lapp got up to leave after 45 minutes, Immanuel didn’t want her to go. And they vied for attention while busy with a lesson involving Popsicle sticks, cotton balls and glue sticks. They laughed when she barked like a dog in the story. The kids leaned against Lapp as she read to them. Joy Lapp, a home-visiting teacher, graying and trim, joined 4-year-old Immanuel and his sister, Gigi, 2, on their living-room floor.

Manheim township school district kindergarten