Rosen JCC now offering kindergarten program

Since 2009, the Rosen JCC Learning Center has offered infant, toddlers and preschoolers with STEAM-based, social, physical, emotional and intellectual programs to prepare them for kindergarten. 

Now, the JCC also will offer a kindergarten program starting in August — something the community center has been wanting to do for a while. 

“We already have the preschool here,” said Sarah Ratliff, senior director of youth programs. “We have families who have been with us for years and would love to stay an extra year because they know the JCC, they know we provide a really great education for the kids, but there is also now a really big demand for alternative schooling options.” 

Ratliff said the demand is because of Orange County Public Schools closing and consolidating schools. 

“The classes that still exist are now going to grow in size, there’s going to be less resources, and more demand on the teachers, which is crazy,” she said. “They’re already overloaded as it is.” 

As the kindergarten program flourishes, Ratliff said the goal is maintain small class sizes. She said the program will cap classes once it reaches 16 students, allowing for more teacher-student interactions, personalized lessons and increased engagement. 

Ratliff said kindergartners will have two teachers — a lead teacher and an assistant. 

The lead teacher has not been hired yet as Ratliff is looking for someone who is certified and experienced. 

A pre-K assistant teacher will be promoted to kindergarten assistant teacher. 

“We’ll have someone new coming in but we’ll still have someone that’s been here for a long time and knows the way we do things,” Ratliff said. 

The Rosen JCC is looking to meet the state standards but also exceed them. 

“We have a STEAM Lab here in the preschool that (kindergartners) will also have access to,” Ratliff said. “It’s one of my favorite things that we have here. We have a whole hydroponics system in there. We also have the room set up so that (students) can have different station areas with different themes each week.” 

Involving children in science, technology, engineering, arts and math is key.  

“We’re going to have weekly Spanish lessons (and) weekly piano lessons,” Ratliff said. 

On top of that, kindergartners will go through social and emotional learning. 

“A big part of the curriculum is to not only teach the kids how to regulate their own emotions, but to learn how they fit into a community, how they relate to their friends, parents and teachers,” she said. “We also are going to have a values class. This is something we already do for our pre-K students. … They learn about things we want them to adopt to become good people. They’ll learn about kindness, charity, friendship. It’s really good character development for them.” 

Ratliff also is coordinating an annual field trip to the Orlando Science Center for the kindergartners. 

“I’m really excited to get to see the same kids who have been here for pre-K that we know and love, and just get to have them for another year,” she said. “I’m sure they’ll be so excited to have another year with their friends, too. … There’s definitely the aspect of belonging to a community. Some of these kids have been here since they were babies and they’ve had the same friends in the same class for years now. … There’s a foundation of trust and belonging there. I think it’s just a very natural way for them to continue their education here.”

Because many of the students stay for after-school care, the program also will facilitate the transition into it. 

Ratliff also is excited to welcome new students. 

“We want to be able to have as many kids as possible access the best education as possible,” she said.

Families don’t need to be Jewish or a member of the Rosen JCC to join. The only requirement to be able to sign up for the program is the child must be 5 years old by Tuesday, Sept. 1.