Kindergartners come together in District 30

More than 100 parents gathered in the Shaw Avenue School library last Wednesday morning, ready to learn about the procedures and expectations for the new school year. As these parents sat and listened, their kindergarten students were getting acclimated to their new surroundings down the hall.

Most of District 30’s kindergarten students are attending Shaw Avenue this year, following the closing of the Washington Avenue Kindergarten Center for budgetary reasons. That building had housed Clear Stream Avenue School’s kindergarten students for the past eight years.

Now Shaw and Clear Stream Avenue’s youngest students are together under one roof — all 164 of them. The district was planning to have six kindergarten classes at Shaw Avenue, but a late surge in enrollment added a seventh class. There is an average of 24 students per class, and each is led by a teacher and a full-time aide.

The district also has one kindergarten class at Forest Road School.

Shaw Avenue School Principal Johane Ligonde, also having her first day of school in Valley Stream, talked to the parents about drop-off and dismissal of students, after-school activities, the district’s breakfast program and school visiting rules. Ligonde, who started on July 1, had two months to get ready for the Sept. 7 so she could address all of the parents concerns.

Tina Correa, whose two sons attend Clear Stream Avenue School, has a daughter, Julianna, in kindergarten at Shaw this year. She said she was used to Washington Avenue, which had just three kindergarten classes totaling about 60 students, so coming over to Shaw Avenue was a bit of a shock. “I think the madness this morning made me nervous, which made her nervous,” Correa said of her daughter.

Once hearing from Ligonde, Shaw Avenue Assistant Principal Amy Pernick and Clear Stream Avenue Assistant Principal Yannie Chon, Correa said some of her fears and concerns were alleviated. She chalked it up to the general craziness of the first day of school.