Moravia's Universal Pre Kindergarten program is now part of the Moravia Central School. We have offered this early childhood program in our building for several years, but it was under the auspices of the Gavras Center or Head Start. UPK in New York state was initially geared to economically disadvantaged students, but participation is now open to all 4-year-old students.

With UPK now run by Moravia Central School, a New York state grant funds this program in its entirety. New York state mandates that the UPK must be taught by a certified teacher and there must be an aide for up to 18 children. We currently have 15 students in our morning program and 12 students in our afternoon program, lasting three hours each. Students are bused to and from school by our district transportation system. Every student is screened upon entrance to determine areas of strengths and areas of struggle.

Terry Denman teaches UPK and brings a wealth of background and experience. First of all, she is a wife and a mom. She has been married to David Denman for 18 years, and they have two sons, Ben and Dakota. Both sons are accomplished students and guitarists. Their band, Childs Play, is featured all around our region. I mention this because Terry credits her success in her career to her family's support and encouragement.

Terry began her adult career at Fleet Bank in Moravia as a teller and customer service representative with an associate degree from Cayuga Community College. After six years, and Dakota's full day attendance at school, she returned to CCC to begin her studies for an early childhood degree.

“Pat Gridley's awesome program is ideal for anyone interested in a career in early childhood or to be a great parent,” she said.

A bachelor of science in elementary education and a master's in literacy at SUNY Cortland rounded off Terry's preparation for a career in what she loves to do: work with our youngest students. Armed with her degrees, she has now worked for two years in pre-kindergarten and four years in Universal Pre-Kindergarten.

A highlight for her was working with Sue Jones at Neighborhood House in Auburn. Terry acknowledges Sue as a “wonderful lady who is great with kids and knows and greets every student by name and puts in lots of hours.” She believes that Neighborhood House provided an outstanding way for her to develop and hone her professional skills, particularly because of the professional development opportunities that were encouraged by Sue.

Here at Moravia, Terry and her aide, Tammy Myers, believe that their program reflects sound family values. Each child and adult is part of the family, contributing to the daily “school family jobs” that help to make the classroom run smoothly.

One of the many positive models for building communication skills is “Seven Powers of Social Behavior.” These are used throughout the day, helping students to express themselves in positive and constructive ways. For example, “Composure” suggests that students sometimes feel upset and angry. Feelings are normal and yet, often 4-year-olds struggle with how to handle those strong emotions. “Composure” guides the students to articulate their feelings in a proactive way and then, to choose how to release these feelings in socially acceptable ways.

Terry shared a book bag, called the “We Care Bag” that contains items students may choose for comforting:

Dakota contributed his teddy bear for hugs, a container of bandaids to heal those emotional scrapes and bumps, a squishy ball to squeeze and a tube of lotion, called “cranky cream” for those really tough moments.

The work of Dr. Becky Bailey and her emotional hero, Shubert, helps students develop a personal awareness and a repertoire of skills for handling their feelings.

Denman states, “They learn what to do, how to be responsible for their own actions. We're giving them the tools to be successful throughout their entire career.”

This classroom is full of welcoming and attractive arrangements of learning centers. Terry shared many different ways that her students can learn in age appropriate ways.

A listening center allows students to be seated comfortably with head phones, listening to books on tape. A word wall, where students can place words being developed in their vocabulary in alphabetical order uses blackboard space. Puppets, every child's favorite way to act out their creativity, wait for workshop time.

While emotional growth is integral to a child's success in school, the academic curriculum is the foundation of the UPK program. The Houghton Mifflin Pre Kindergarten curriculum provides the underpinning of every day. Divided into three week units, this program develops social studies, English language arts including poetry, science, math and the arts. New York Learning Standards are integrated in the units of study.

Every child is evaluated by the Denman and Myers team following each three units. This also assures individual support as our students progress through their year.

Terry worked this past summer with our kindergarten and first-grade teachers to align all their curricula, ensuring that her program prepares her students for success in their successive school years.

In her words, “My students are going to be so well prepared for the rest of their schooling.”

Moravia's staff and students are fortunate to welcome Mrs. Denman, Mrs. Myers and the UPK aboard here at Millard Fillmore Elementary School.

Pat Kinney is an art teacher at Millard Fillmore Elementary School in Moravia.