Because “reading colors our world,” children were asked to wear their favorite color on Monday. Since “reading is crazy fun,” wearing their silliest socks or rocking a crazy hairstyle was Tuesday’s theme. Wednesday saw the students dressed as their favorite superhero or wearing a superhero shirt to remind them that “reading gives you superpowers.” Because “books bring out your wild side,” kids were encouraged to wear animal print clothing or a shirt with a favorite animal on it during Thursday classes. The week ended with an invitation for everyone to wear their pajamas to school to remind them to “cozy up with a good book.”

Pre-kindergarten teacher Ana Garcia took things a step further and chose R as the letter of week. Not only is it the beginning letter of reading but the children made rainbow bracelets as one of their many daily activities, which reinforced their color recognition skills.

Preschool Director Lenora “Ponie” Mojado enjoys the Book Fair because parents get to purchase books for their children to enjoy at home. Additionally, the preschool benefits directly from Book Fair sales through Scholastic Dollars, which teachers can use to purchase books, classroom materials, and educational items.

This year’s book fair was very successful, earning almost $1,700, some of which goes back to the school. “This provides teachers with valuable resources for their classrooms,” Mojado said.

Book Fair Consultant Jessica Cameron has worked at Scholastic for three years and served as the preschool’s consultant this year. Her role is to help to organize book fairs and talk to book fair hosts to help with planning events. She serves a large area and helps more than 650 schools in Riverside County, with about 100 of them being preschools.

She said every school that hosts a fair gets a percentage of the profits earned back in Scholastic Dollars that can be used to purchase books off of future fairs or to shop the Scholastic Dollars Catalog online that has many fun items from books, to book vending machines, digital products, outdoor toys, classroom resources, and more. They also offer 10 percent extra in Scholastic Dollars for schools that run more than one fair.

“We have been working with Soboba Tribal Preschool since 2016, there was a break during COVID (2020-2023) and we started back in 2024,” Cameron said.  “It’s been my pleasure to work with Soboba Tribal Preschool.”

Cameron has always had a love for reading. “I love the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins,” she said. “My little sister and I read the books together in middle school/high school and won tickets from a radio contest to be able to go see the first movie at a local theater when it premiered. I’ve loved that Collins has continued the series with new additions as well.”

Mojado appreciates the work Scholastic does to curate the selection of books based on the age group served.

“For future fairs, we plan to order additional items such as pencils, erasers, and small novelty items that families enjoy,” she said. “We also consider what parents typically like to purchase, and Scholastic sends a variety of high interest children’s books. They also include a $5 table with chapter books for older elementary students. The $5 chapter book collections are especially popular with families who have older children, and parents often pick up books for siblings as well.”

Before releasing her students from rug time, Garcia asked each student if they had a favorite book. Many of them replied with the popular title, “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Rainbow” by Lucille Colandro. This is one that was read aloud to the class as part of their rainbow theme on March 12. Garcia commended the students for sharing and said all their titles were good choices.

“Our most popular books for sale this year have been princess-themed stories, Spider-Man books, and monster truck books, which the children are especially excited about,” Mojado said.

For more information, please visit https://education.scholastic.com/content/fairs/home.html.

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Many existing kindergarten classrooms in the district don’t meet state standards. Now, they’re getting ready to add another grade for young children: transitional kindergarten (TK).

In 2021, California started a $2.7 billion plan to offer TK to all 4-year-olds by the 2025-2026 school year, aiming to create the largest free preschool program in the country.

But school districts like Pace’s are struggling to build or modify facilities suitable for these new young learners.

Why it’s tough and costly?

San Bernardino City Unified is finishing up using $250 million in bond money raised over a decade ago for school improvements.

“All of the specialized space is highly expensive, and for those school districts that lack the local resources, we struggle to make those improvements on a grand scale,” Pace said.

State requirements for new TK classrooms (and kindergarten classrooms) are different than those of typical classrooms. 4-year-olds need space to play, indoors and outdoors, and they need supervision when going to the bathroom, which means having a restroom inside the classroom or close by.

In San Bernardino, 150 of the 190 early education classrooms don’t meet those standards, Pace said.

A recent analysis of state data found most districts reported having classroom space for early learners, but a third had concerns about facilities, including square footage, bathrooms, and outdoor play areas.

In 2022, California expanded a grant program to help school districts build or renovate TK classrooms. Through two rounds of funding, the state has given out $585.9 million.

But the program requires school districts to provide matching funds at the local level, which can be difficult for lower-resourced districts.

Last month, the governor in his May revised budget cut more than half a billion dollars for that program. Lawmakers are considering putting a statewide bond on the ballot in November.

Why learning environments matter?

Space is important for young children, because they learn through play. Susan Samarge-Powell, director of early learning at Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, said, “It’s about moving around, they’re moving all day long. And so having that space to afford them that ability is a big deal.”

Restrooms are also important because four-year-olds don’t have the same bladder control as older kids.

When bathrooms aren’t inside the classroom, it leads to more “transition” time, with kids having to line up to go to the bathroom or walk down the hall. This can lead to less learning time and more behavioral issues.

How the state helps?

The California Department of Education is advising local school districts on best practices for arranging child-sized furniture and making classrooms appropriate for 4-year-olds. They also have a toolkit on helping kids go to the bathroom.

A study found children who attended TK in California had stronger literacy and math skills when entering kindergarten than kids who didn’t attend the program.

The goal is to give more children access to TK to set them up for success later in life.

What districts without local funds do?

San Bernardino City Unified got some funding from the state grant program to help build an early learning center, but that would be for just seven classrooms across a large district. The district didn’t apply for another round because they didn’t have enough local money for a match.

Fontana Unified School District applied for more than $23 million but hasn’t received any of it. The district is looking to put TK classrooms in seven schools.

Alan Reising, business services administrator with Long Beach Unified, said districts will have to re-prioritize their local dollars to make do with what they have.

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