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Jumpstart preps kids for success

Program helps Appleview students get ready for new school year

Sparta — Keeping kids on track is the name of the game for the Jumpstart program at Appleview Elementary.

The program, which wrapped up recently, offers kindergarten through fifth-grade students a chance to start off the school year on the best note possible. 

“It’s to help fill any learning loss from the summer,” said Appleview Principal Mike Birely. “It’s for our kids who struggle academically, to help fill the gaps and make them feel confident as they get started with the school year.”

Birely said the invitation-only program has been around for at least 20 years. It’s been successful in giving kids a strong start to the school year, particularly with respect to math and literacy.

Third-grade teacher Sandy Davis calls on a student at Appleview Elementary
Third-grade teacher Sandy Davis calls on a student at Appleview Elementary

Sparta Superintendent Joel Stoner said the program doesn’t just benefit kids in need of extra help — it serves their classmates, who can hit the ground running without teachers having to backtrack at the start of the year. 

Stoner said Jumpstart is a “teacher-run, teacher-planned and teacher-led” initiative. 

Priming Students for Success 

First-grade teacher Alexa Andresen recently worked with small groups of kindergarteners who will soon take the big leap into first grade, switching off periodically between math- and reading-focused lessons.

“We’re getting them ready,” she said. “We work on things like letter sounds; we work on things like counting to 100. We’re working on building CVC words — which would be consonant, vowel, consonant — and just kind of prepping them to get them ready to get back into the school year.”

First-grade teacher Alexa Andresen works with students Neko Johnson, left, and Ezer Segner
First-grade teacher Alexa Andresen works with students Neko Johnson, left, and Ezer Segner

Andresen said the hope is that the program will give the students the skills their future teachers will expect.

The teachers’ support of Jumpstart was clear, from their methodical transitions from one lesson to the next, to their patience and care with each student.

“This is an amazing program,” said Emily Metzger, a third- through fifth-grade teacher with the Great Start Readiness Program.

Metzger normally works with 4-year-olds at the Sparta Early Childhood Center. She said she’s thrilled to help out at Appleview, where she can see some of her former students make strides.

“That just makes it even better, to see how far they’ve come,” she said.

In a third-grade classroom, students sharpened their fractions skills using graphics of ice cream cones, and wrote their own stories about how to be a good friend, said teaching assistant Kayleigh Bisel.

Teaching assistant Kayleigh Bisel demonstrates how Jumpstart students work on fractions
Teaching assistant Kayleigh Bisel demonstrates how Jumpstart students work on fractions

The Jumpstart program has been “very successful” in combating the “summer slide”: a tendency among some students to lose touch with curriculum during summer break, Stoner said. 

‘It’s for our kids who struggle academically, to help fill the gaps and make them feel confident as they get started with the school year.’

Appleview Principal Mike Birely

Stoner said Jumpstart also helps kids get reacclimated to the structure of a school day prior to the official start of the school year.

Read more from Sparta: 
Smiles all around at morning drop-off 
Middle school fishing club lures students

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Riley Kelley
Riley Kelley
Riley Kelley is a reporter covering Cedar Springs, Grand Rapids, East Grand Rapids and Sparta school districts. An award-winning journalist, Riley spent eight years with the Ludington Daily News, reporting, copy editing, paginating and acting as editor for its weekly entertainment section. He also contributed to LDN’s sister publications, Oceana’s Herald-Journal and the White Lake Beacon. His reporting on issues in education and government has earned accolades from the Michigan Press Association and Michigan Associated Press Media Editors. Riley’s early work in journalism included a stint as an on-air news reporter for WMOM Radio, and work on the editorial staff of various student publications. Riley is a graduate of Grand Valley State University. He originally hails from western Washington.

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