ELC making an impact

As the school year gets closer to its end, Rome City officials are excited to see what is happening at Anna K. Davie and the South Rome Early Learning Center.

“I hear nothing but positive feedback,” said Lou Byars, interim superintendent. “The parents are involved, the children are doing well and the school is getting a lot of positive attention.”

The ELC is now in its second year and is a cooperative effort between Rome City Schools, Berry College and South Rome Redevelopment Corp. It’s housed in Anna K. Davie Elementary School and offers young children a jumpstart on their education at 3 years old.

The first 20 children to attend the South Rome Early Learning Center are now in Pre-K and the official “big kids” in the hallway.

“They know all about how the school works,” said Cayce Jacobson, ELC teacher. “They play on the playground together and they walk the same hallway, so they are like the big brothers and sisters to the new students in the ELC.”

Jacobson said that the original threes from last year are having fun being helpers.

“The Pre-K and the ELC share a playground,” she said. “They love showing the new ELC students how

Kristina Wilder / RN-T.com Dilan Do plays with the zig zag blocks during Kindermusik. Every month, the students get a new instrument to play music with.

to do things. They also love showing off the ‘grownup stuff’ in their new Pre-K class. They want to be examples for the new students.”

Pre-K teacher Ashlea Pearman has the original threes in her class this year.

“They are able to follow directions and they acclimated to the classroom much easier than children who have not had that ELC experience,” she said. “Academically, I think they are a little further along and their speaking and conversation abilities are much stronger.”

Of course, this is just the beginning of seeing results from the ELC program, officials said.

“We will be tracking the kids who attend the ELC to see the impact it has,” explained Ralph Davis, chairman of South Rome Redevelopment Corp.

AKD principal Parke Wilkinson said having the ELC as part of his school has been an “outstanding experience.”

“I can already see the growth of these children,” he said. “I feel like this will benefit our school for years to come. It has a great effect on the parents as well, because it makes them more comfortable in the school setting.”

ELC parents are asked to come into the school every day as they drop off and pick up their child. The ELC teachers often talk to them about how their child’s day went.

“I think many parents want to be involved, but maybe don’t know how to reach out initially,” Wilkinson said. “This brings them right into the school. I think down the road, we will see even more, greater results.”