Kindergartners taking over Ecumenical Center

Starting Tuesday (Sept. 2), students of a much younger variety will be on campus four days a week, taking classes at the Ecumenical Center on the UW-Green Bay campus.

The EC is a host site for 4-year-old kindergarteners enrolled in the Green Bay Public School District. About 20 kindergartners from Danz and Baird elementary schools will be bused to campus Monday through Thursday, and taught by a GBPSD teacher and aide.

The plan is for UW-Green Bay students to become student teachers or have the field experience of working with the young learners later in the semester, said Prof. Tim Kaufman, chair of the Professional Program in Education.

“This will allow us an opportunity to help us prepare our pre-service teachers by giving them unique field experience,” Kaufman said. “It’s a win-win situation for our programs, our students and the Green Bay Public School District.”

This is the first year Green Bay schools are holding 4-year-old kindergarten, said Cathy Wenzel, supervisor of the pre-K programs for Green Bay Public School District.

“We’re excited about this partnership and all the possibilities it can bring,” Wenzel said.