Redmond moving all kindergartners to new school

Can you imagine 500 5-year-olds in one school? Well, it’s happening soon. The Redmond School District is working to open the Redmond Early Learning Center at the Hugh Hartman Campus.

The city’s kindergartners will all be moving to the center this fall. Children who usually would attend one of Redmond’s five elementary schools will now gather at the Early Learning Center instead. Kindergarten classes in Terrebonne and Tumalo will not be moving to the center due to distance.

“As we look at the readiness of our students coming into kindergarten, we have a concern. That’s not only a concern for Redmond, it’s a concern for the state of Oregon and the United States,” Desiree Margo, the center’s planning principal, said Friday.

District officials said 40 percent of children arrive at kindergarten unprepared, and they hope to curb this statistic.

“We can keep do what we’ve been doing and get the same result, or we can say we’re really going to invest in early learning in Redmond. We know that when we do that, we will have more students that are graduating,” Margo said.

The district says early education is key to better high school and college graduation rates.

“Research all up and down the scales reveals that if students can’t read at or above grade level by third grade, then the likelihood of them graduating diminishes,” said Superintendent Mike McIntosh.

Last year, the Redmond School District was among those moving from half-day to full-day kindergarten, so students could get twice as much classroom time. The school district believes that having all students centrally located will be key to success.

District officials also say the Early Learning Center will be a hub for families to get information and education even before their child starts kindergarten.

The new early-schooling model will be a first for Central Oregon, but not a first in Oregon. Redmond officials visited other centers in Portland and Gladstone that have adopted a campus for kindergartners only.

The building that housed the Redmond Proficiency Academy’s Middle School is being remodeled to create 18 classrooms, which can accommodate up to 500 students.

For more information, visit http://www.redmond.k12.or.us/about/early-learning-center/.