Pre-K And Kindergartners Learning Together In One Classroom Pays Off At Broken Arrow Schools

Some pre-k and kindergarten students in Broken Arrow are learning together in one classroom. 

The district says this is a creative way to manage overcrowded classrooms and the growth at the district. 

There are two multi-age classrooms at Broken Arrow Public Schools, both at the Aspen Creek Early Childhood Center.

"They come in as pre-k. Some of them know their letters, a lot of them don't, and by the end of kindergarten, they are reading and going on, writing and doing all types of things," said teacher Rachel Ellis. 

Rachel says each student comes in as a pre-k student and then spends two years in the classroom.

"Next door at the elementary school they were having an overabundance of students, the kindergarten classes were huge, so they were trying to alleviate some of that crowding, so that's how it started about five, six years ago," she said.

She's able to create a bond with the students and says it's great to have the same teacher for two years.

In this year's class, she has ten kindergarteners and nine pre-k students. 

"As pre-k students, it's amazing to see how much more they grow, having that older mentor in the classroom, and those kindergarteners grow even more because they already have that base knowledge," she said.

She says at the start of every year, she's able to pick up where she left off with the kindergarteners, with new pre-k kids joining the mix. 

She says they're like a little family with pre-k students learning new skills and kindergarteners learning how to be leaders. 

"I think even more than what they learn in the classroom, that's going to help them for a lifetime," she said.