At the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year, Self Development Academy (SDA), an award-winning public charter school, located in Mesa, welcomed former student Ms. Elizabeth Pierson to the faculty.
Ms. Pierson, a recent graduate of the University of Arizona, enthusiastically joined the SDA Kindergarten Team. Ms. Pierson began her educational journey at Self Development Preschool at the age of 3, and continued with SDA through grade six. Since the time Ms. Pierson was a student at SDA, the school community and academic offerings have expanded. Currently, the campus houses kindergarten through grade eight.
Although SDA has grown over the years, the school has maintained its mission, philosophy and vision, including a belief every student can learn and succeed by being provided with a challenging, rigorous curriculum in a nurturing, supportive environment. Ms. Pierson can attest to this fact, as she shares her experiences as a former student and present faculty member. Ms. Pierson shares the following:
In kindergarten, our teacher would sit us down on a square, rainbow carpet and read to us every day. She held the book open in front of her face so we could hear the characters speak instead of her. I don’t recall her name or the books she read, but the smile on my face was always big enough to hurt my cheeks, and my eyes closed when I laughed. When the story came to an end, we would cheer and then complain when we realized we needed to part with the characters with which we had fallen in love in those short minutes.
A year later, our school days consisted of reading those same stories on our own. I would ask for books instead of extra recess time. I measured playtime by the number of chapters I could finish before lining up to go back inside. When I wasn’t reading, my friends and I acted out our assigned story of the week, using that same rainbow carpet as our stage.
Now, years later, I see that same love of reading and pursuit of learning reflected in our current kindergarten classes at SDA. The students really already have made leaps and bounds. They recognize letter sounds and word families. They take turns reading from books to the class, holding the pages in front of them the way my teacher did for my class.
Tiny chatter fills the space between activities—sometimes about the work they’ve just completed and comparing math facts from this week to last week—other times about books they read at home and recommendations on what should be read next. At snack time, I hear about princesses and superheroes they’ve created to complement the pre-existing ones they love. Last week, one of the little boys showed me a book he wrote himself. One of the girls finished a math test she hadn’t been able to complete in time the week before, and the whole class cheered for her.
There is an old-fashioned view of kindergarten. Many people think it’s just learning shapes and colors or singing the alphabet song 10 times in a row. Shapes and colors do make appearances throughout the day, but as tools to teach patterns and time and how to understand money. Kindergarten is the foundation for life. Students are encouraged to find answers to their questions instead of being told the answer. They are shown how to study and how to take tests, and are taught how to make mistakes and learn from them in a healthy, generative way.
I recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English. At the degree ceremony, I sat on a chair on a different colored carpet, with different classmates, looking at a completely different teacher, with the same smile that hurt my cheeks so many years before. My educational journey started playing back to me.
My days of putting studying first when school ended, my comfort with asking questions in class and the ability to speak to teachers on their level. So many other skills were introduced to me during kindergarten. This new generation picks up those same lessons and takes them even further. I know one day, when they sit in their degree ceremonies, they’ll look back on these days now and be thankful their education was taken seriously so early.
SDA offers an accelerated academic program beginning with the kindergarten year. Students learn a minimum of one year ahead of the Arizona Department of Education Academic Standards. During kindergarten, students learn phonemic awareness, and they develop reading fluency and reading comprehension skills. They also write grammatically correct sentences and short stories, as well as master addition and subtraction, among many other skills.
In addition to providing a strong foundation for first grade, students participate in weekly music, art and physical education classes, and share their talents in bi-annual performances. All of the above occurs in a wonderful environment amidst dedicated, committed faculty.
Registration has begun for the 2017-2018 school year. SDA has an open enrollment policy. For more information, or to arrange a tour, please contact the front office at (480) 641-2640.
To learn more about the SDA Kindergarten Program, please join us for a Kindergarten Information Night. Kindergarten Information Nights are scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 15 and Tuesday, Dec. 6 at 6:15 p.m. The information nights are held in the multipurpose room.