It is back to school season for Richmond Public Schools and ExCELL’s Ocean Adventures students are heading into kindergarten with classroom experience and a sea of knowledge to share.
Formally Excellence in Children’s Early Language and Literacy, the nonprofit works to connect families, educators and communities to bridge the gap between home and school and support the development of children’s early language and literacy.
This past summer, ExCELL ran its annual Ocean Adventures program. The program focuses on kindergarten readiness and helps children and families make a smooth transition between preschool and kindergarten. Ocean Adventures runs for five weeks within the district’s summer school schedule and is open to children in the Richmond Public School system who are recommended by their teachers.
ExCELL provides the curriculum, ocean-themed classroom decorations and coaching for educators working with Ocean Adventures.
“The program is unique because we have team-teaching cohorts where a kindergarten teacher and a preschool teacher work together in each classroom,” said Cynthia Hutchinson, director of ExCELL.
Strengthening At Home Support
Families of Ocean Adventures students also receive significant support through free family events. Family events are held across the community and each event covers the same literacy and language topic that the children are learning in the classroom.
“ExCELL provides parents and guardians with information about how to be ready for kindergarten as a family,” Hutchinson said. “We support language and literacy at home by passing out take-home games and activities to keep the learning going during the summer.”
This summer, ExCELL hosted three family events. Two events took place at SCOR and the other was at the Maymont Park Nature Center. Children received soccer balls, an ocean book, a book about going off to kindergarten and a meal.
A Sea of Opportunities
Ocean Adventures saw growth and change in its curriculum this summer. ExCELL adapted the materials to be simpler and more uniform, much like what students will see in kindergarten classrooms.
“Building the right foundation in the classroom makes it much easier for children to adapt to the kindergarten curriculum,” Hutchinson said. “For the first time, I saw a strong bridge between the materials children interact with in preschool and kindergarten.”
ExCELL hopes to continue expanding the program and open it up to more children. Teachers, families and students all receive support from the nonprofit and the program is free for everyone involved. All the materials for Ocean Adventures are fully funded by nonprofit resources and the program is supported by Richmond Public Schools.
“Our strong partnership with Richmond Public Schools is very rewarding,” Hutchinson said. “I feel supported in that partnership and I hope we can expand it in the future.”
Learn more about ExCELL and the Ocean Adventures program here.
