Young children jump into life as a student during innovative Leap Start Summer Program

By Christina Lent

The Beaverton Valley Times, Jul 29, 2010, Updated Jul 29, 2010

Jeffrey Basinger / The Times

Instructional Assistant Qamar Ibrahin helps 4-year-old Giovanni Guzman practice identifying colors as Jamal Abdy awaits his turn.

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Yuvindu Chandrasinghe gripped a black erasable marker in his right hand as he carefully traced the letters of his first name.

After diligently completing the task four times, the 4-year-old boy looked up for his Leap Start teacher’s approval.

“Great job,” praised Eve Berry. “You may go back to your building activity now.”

With a flash of a smile at two of his classmates who were still completing the writing exercise at the table, Yuvindu rushed to snap more “tires” onto what he called “a big truck” sporting at least a dozen sets of tires already.

Yuvindu is one of 10 children ages 3, 4 and 5, getting a jump on what it’s like to be a student and go to school during morning sessions of the Leap Start Summer Program held Monday through Thursday in the community room of the Merlo Station Apartments.

Similar programs for nearly 260 at-risk students from 12 Beaverton elementary schools have met at eight sites across town this summer thanks to a $130,000 Early Learners Innovation Grant. It’s the fourth year of a partnership between the Nike School Innovation Fund and Beaverton School District to offer the program to students preparing for kindergarten and first grade.

“This program has made a significant impact in a lot of children’s lives in the community,” said Veronica Jones, the school district’s Leap Start program coordinator. “We’ve had close to 1,000 children participate in the program who were less likely to start the regular school year with the same amount of anxiety.

“They spent less time crying and worrying about being away from their parents, and as a result, were ready to learn a lot faster.”

Prepared for school

With one week remaining in the five-week program, Yuvindu and his new friends have learned an array of academic skills from recognizing their names and letters of the alphabet to counting and identifying parts of the body, colors and shapes. For some, they have also learned how to use scissors and hold a pencil for the first time.

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