JMC School System collaborates with local leaders to help kindergartners succeed

JACKSON, Tenn. — Members of the Jackson-Madison County School System met with various early childhood development organizations to discuss preparing young children for their entrance into kindergarten.

“As a team at the district, we’ve been having a conversation about how do we get everyone around the table in the county to talk about early education for our children,” said Jared Myracle.

Myracle is the Chief Academic Officer for the Jackson-Madison County School System and says there needs to be a common understanding of what a kindergarten student can do. He says learning how they function in a classroom helps better track their progress.

According to the school system, there currently is not enough pre-kindergarten programs to cover all of the children in Jackson-Madison County. A possible solution is to enlist the help of privately owned pre-k centers.

“It matters that they’re all getting an opportunity to kind of better themselves to be prepared for kindergarten from day one, which is our whole goal,” said Matt Marshall. Marshall was a representative for “Hands Up” Preschool and says this collaboration is important because it allows everyone to learn from each other.

The school system is looking into providing more professional development, training, and outside resources for these local programs. The next meeting will be held at the Jackson-Madison County School Board’s central office on December 6 at 6 p.m.