Norwich – Tape measures, safety glasses and brooms seem more like materials for a high school shop class, but Board of Education members learned last week that they also work in preschool classes.

Lynn DePina, director of the Norwich Early Learning Centers – comprising the Bishop and Case Street schools – gave an overview of full-day and half-day preschool programs for the Board of Education on Tuesday titled “Play: Is it really a four-letter word?”

DePina and Curriculum Coordinator Cheryl LaMothe said there's much more going on at preschool play than would be evident to casual observers or passersby. Children learn and practice cognitive skills, improve vocabulary, solve math problems, engage in physical activities from ball games to climbing, improve running and balance and learn social skills, DePina said.

Educators often use small group sessions and use a combination of pretend games – a piece of wood can symbolize a person and a classroom or playground can be used to “play house” – but real, natural items and authentic materials also help. Children use real safety glasses, measuring tapes or brooms or even a restaurant menu.

The teaching concepts might seem simple, DePina said, but the system is far from it. The program is evaluated by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, which has 10 overall standards encompassing 10,000 criteria. Norwich's program undergoes annual evaluations and a rigorous 16-month re-accreditation every five years.

Norwich has a combination of full-day and part-day preschool programs, with 94 students enrolled in full-day, year-round fee-based programs with hours from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and 203 students in part-day morning or afternoon sessions that run during the school year. The program has 61 staff, including 16 teachers and 34 paraprofessional classroom aides. The special education preschool program includes a school psychologist, two speech specialists and three teachers.

The programs have a myriad of funding sources, including a state School Readiness grant of $1.275 million and federal Title 1 and special education grants. Recently, the program also received state a Smart Start capital improvement grant of $75,000, a program grant of $75,000 and another $77,500 capital improvement grant to build a new playground at the Case Street school, which houses the full-day program.

In addition to the Case Street and Bishop Early Learning Centers, the city has two Family Resource Centers – preschools with family services including adult English classes and home visits – at the John B. Stanton School and Wequonnoc School. The district receives $209,000 in grant money for those programs to pay for a coordinator and two home visitors, DePina said.

Fees paid by families total about $300,000 per year, DePina said.

c.bessette@theday.com

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