JAMESBURG – John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Jamesburg hosted a community-oriented event on April 2 to jumpstart the “Week of the Young Child.” The celebratory program, which celebrates early education, educators, children, and family, is an initiative from the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
The activity-filled day featured fun for attendees and important information about schooling for families in Jamesburg.
Hosted at JFK’s playground and field, young visitors were welcomed with bouncy houses, pony rides, petting zoos, face paintings and free hot dogs.
For parents and guardians, the event featured a variety of organizations that connected with local families to provide information and resources on health care, nutrition, and food security.
Jennifer Vanderburg, the Early Childhood Coordinator at JFK, explained that besides having fun, the purpose of the event was to inform working families about their free preschool program. According to Vanderburg, the New Jersey Department of Education provided JFK Elementary with a preschool expansion grant that enables families to enroll at no cost.
“We have expanded our school to include public preschool for our community of working families through the NJ Department of Education Preschool Expansion Grant. Currently, we serve approximately 100 three- and four-year-olds in eight classrooms. Our program offers a high quality, full day program at no charge to the working families in our community.
“We have eight classrooms, with capacity for up to 120 children ages three and four. As Jamesburg is a small community, we are able to offer this program to all interested with no wait list.
“We implement all the elements of a high-quality program, as deemed by the state of New Jersey,” she said.
Overall, Vanderburg said the event served as an opportunity to provide assistance and connect with local families.
“We are a community school and collaborate with our families to ensure we meet their needs. We work to offer parent workshops as well as partner with local agencies to try to connect families to resources requested,” she said.
From April 4–8, JFK Elementary continued to celebrate the “Week of the Young Child” by hosting daily in-school activities for students. Music Monday was rescheduled for April 14, Tasty Tuesday was April 5, Work Together Wednesday was April 6, Artsy Thursday was April 7, and Family Friday was April 8.
Registration is now open for the 2022-2023 school year. Interested families can contact John F. Kennedy Elementary School by visiting https://jfk.jamesburg.org/