By Patrick Cooley
BROOKFIELD — The Brookfield school district is considering expanding a program it says helps prepare students for kindergarten and first grade.
It’s called “Success by Six” and it is funded by the United Way of Mercer County. Each school picks students going into kindergarten who they think might be falling behind other students, and puts them through a six-week course that focuses on the areas they need help in.
Brookfield elementary had 20 students involved in the program this summer. According to their records, scores on the tests children must take before entering kindergarten have steadily improved since they started “Success by Six” four years ago.
“We had one classroom,” Brookfield kindergarten teacher Sherry Ondo, who helps coordinate the “Success by Six,” said. “We would like to have two, but that is up to the United Way.”
The United Way funding provides the instructors, food for lunches and the transporation to the school. Children who participate are ones who have been singled out by teachers as having areas they need to improve upon before starting school.
Unlike other United Way-supported programs, such as Head Start, there are no income requirements for “Success by Six.”
“The only financial obligation to the school district is the building and the supplies,” said Brookfield Superintendent Tim Saxton.
“We are definitely looking to do more with it,” Mrs. Ondo said.
There are 10 schools in Mercer County that also have “Success by Six” programs. They are Commodore Perry, Farrell, Greenville, Grove City, Hermitage, Mercer, Reynolds, Sharon, Sharpsville and West Middlesex.
The United Way of Mercer County supports the program in Brookfield because of its proximity.
Laura McElhinny, the United Way of Mercer County development director, said they’ve been offering it for eight years.
“We’ve always been reaching for 20 kids per classroom,” she said. “We’ve never really discussed a limit.”
“Success by Six” is funded through donations to the United Way. Ms. McElhinny said they didn’t see a problem with a school district wanting to expand their involvement.
