Great progress in first grade

The teachers at Positive Tomorrows are always proud of their students and accomplishments, especially at the end of the year as they review students’ educational and personal growth. Mrs. Strobel, our 1st and 2nd grade teacher, is particularly delighted with the progress of one of her students. This first grade student entered PT with very basic Kindergarten skills. Also, his inability to focus for more than a few minutes on any particular lesson presented challenges in classroom instruction. He did not consistently recognize the full alphabet and could not accurately count past ten.

Throughout the year, Mrs. Strobel and Ms Barrie were concerned that he was not making enough progress to accomplish first grade and move on to the second grade. Often, getting him to finish his work was very time consuming because his attention was constantly wandering and he was so frequently called back to focus on his schoolwork. It was difficult to assess whether he was really learning the materials, or if he would be able to remember the lesson the next time it was reviewed.

As the end of the year approached, Mrs. Strobel considered the option of keeping him at Positive Tomorrows so that he could receive instruction in a small classroom setting and perhaps help him progress to his appropriate grade level. There was a concern that he might even need to be held back a grade. In late April he was tested and the results were astonishing. Not only had he advanced far beyond Kindergarten level, he had mastered enough skills to allow him to enter a public school at the second grade level, with a recommendation for a tutor. He essentially completed two grades (Kindergarten and first grade) in the school year.