“I was really scared to come this morning too, but then I got here and now I’m so happy!” said an adorable Southwick student, comforting another student who was scared on his first day of school.

2024 is the eleventh year United Way of Allen County’s Kindergarten Countdown program has run in Fort Wayne Community Schools and East Allen County Schools. Kindergarten Countdown is a four-week summer program designed to get incoming kindergarteners ready for their first school year. The program is offered to incoming students with little to no prior Pre-K experience, English language learners, and/or are identified by school staff as children who are at risk for falling behind their kindergarten classmates. The program runs half-days Monday through Friday as a way of getting children settled into school life. Children can begin working on skills such as counting, pre-reading, listening, and social emotional skills before the school year begins. An East Allen County Schools (EACS) educator says of the program, “I just love the fact that kids get the opportunity to join the school setting before the entire school is coming into the building at the beginning of August. To be in a bigger setting in a more structured way. And so being able to participate in Kindergarten Countdown allows them the opportunity to become familiar with the layout of the school and become familiar with the people that they are going to see every day when they start coming to school in August. And it helps to ease the parents, too.”

Not only do students get the benefits of getting a jump start on kindergarten but students also receive backpacks with school supplies made possible by our generous donors. In addition to having fun and learning in the classroom, they also get to go on a field trip to Eagle Marsh. Students are also screened for potential hearing or vision concerns so any referrals can be made early to prevent impacts to learning.

See our results from the 2024 program below:

2024 SUMMARY REPORT

OVERVIEW:

• Number of classrooms: 8
• Number of schools: 7
• Number of students: 120
• Attendance rate: 83%

ASSESSMENT RESULTS:

• Get Ready to Read is a tool that screens for basic pre-literacy skills. Overall, the scores increased 17% or by 11 percentage points (66% to 77%).
• Overall, the social emotional scores increased 18% or by 12 percentage points (61% to 71%).
• Overall, the name writing ability scores increased 38% or by 21 percentage points (55% to 76%).
• Overall, the basic math scores increased 8% or by 6 percentage points (80% to 86%).
• Overall, the draw person scores increased 45% or by 21 percentage points (47% to 68%).

HEALTH SCREENING RESULTS:

• 84 children screened for vision and hearing
• 18 children were referred for vision
• 2 children were referred for hearing

BACKPACK DONATIONS:

• 9 companies
• 311 backpacks and supplies were donated

Successfully transitioning children from the home to the school is just one of the building blocks of a successful life for them. We here at United Way of Allen County understand the importance of early childhood education, and the Kindergarten Countdown initiative is an important initiative that is in alignment with our strategic priority of Educational Opportunities. If you are inspired by this story and would like to donate to the ensure the continuity of such an essential program, please click here. We at United Way of Allen County thank you for your generosity in ensuring these children have a successful start to their school careers.