Meetings set on pre-K screening process

The East Baton Rouge Parish school system will have two “Pre-K Palooza” meetings about the new screening process for pre-K registration that will replace the old lottery system for the 2013-2014 school year.

The meetings will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Cortana Mall and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday at Woodlawn Middle School, 14939 Tiger Bend Road, a news release says.

Students will be selected based on an academic assessment of their readiness for kindergarten.

The pre-K roundup application period for slots will be held from Jan. 28 to Feb. 1.

Applications are available at schools of choice or online at http://www.ebrschools.org. For more information, call [phone].

Comments

1) Comment by Iamhopeful2 - 21/01/2013

A "round up." How telling. Round them up and label them. What is the method for "testing them for readiness?" Who is doing this testing? What about those who did not have the ability to be to the two selective "testings". Does this sound horridly similar to days gone by? How can so many people in the EBR school system be lead like sheep to do these things for Taylor? Scarey!

2) Comment by phil - 18/01/2013

How about the statement "Students will be selected based on an academic assessment of their readiness for kindergarten." Are you kidding?? These are very young children and not adults being evaluated, and then there is a question of whether the less-ready kids should be the ones placed in Pre-K because they actually need to be made ready for the next step in "education". My take on this is that this is just free daycare service anyway and should not be paid for with taxes dedicated for education. I think if taxpayers want free daycare for all, then that is an entirely different issue that should go to a vote of the public.

3) Comment by Noel Hammatt - 18/01/2013

I'll admit to being puzzled and unsure how to respond to this phenomenal new approach to getting services. I'm not criticizing, and it may be exactly the way we need to go... but I am thinking. Stick with me here. The state, the schools, and the districts has been telling students how important it is to do their best. Now, here we have a situation where parents looking to provide services (and, let's face it, have free day-care too) is going to be provided based on which kids do the worst! That's right, and I can see the logic of the District. Perhaps we should be providing services to those who need it the most... on the other hand, aren't we rewarding parents who take few steps to be the most effective teacher they can be? I mean, think about it. IF you do a great job, your child will score higher, and then you will miss out on getting your child into pre-K. Given all the bogus claims about how pre-K can remove the gaps between rich and poor, aren't we setting ourselves up for failure here? I can just see a mom keeping her child up all night the night before the screening, and getting them all riled up before the "screening." Am I the only one that thinks this is a possibility? And keep in mind, neither the state nor the district is really doing anything to inform parents that they are their child's first, and most important teacher... and now this. Call me puzzled. (I did call the number in the article to make sure of the facts, and yes, I was assured that the kids scoring the worst would get the services.)