Kaine pays Grove Park a visit

A class of toddlers walked through a hallway in an organized line, gazing curiously and naively at the man in a dark suit waving to them as they passed.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine spent an hour visiting Grove Park Preschool, a public school that serves about 250 children ages 2-4 from all over Danville. Kaine was originally supposed to visit the school in September for an H1N1 news conference and again earlier this month, but had to reschedule because of other obligations.

Kaine touts the progress made statewide in advancing early childhood education, such as expanding programs by 40 percent in the last four years, he said. At Grove Park, students showed the governor how they practice learning shapes, colors and words with new technology, such as Smart Boards and “Breakthrough to Literacy” computer programs.

“Good morning, boys and girls,” Kaine said to a class of 4 year olds. “My name is Tim Kaine and I’m the governor of Virginia. I’m really excited to see what you’re doing here.”

One girl jumped up and hugged the governor. She told him that after they have breakfast, they brush their teeth and then take attendance using the Smart Board. This is the first year Grove Park has used the technology — something Kaine said he had never seen in pre-K classrooms.

Down the hall, a group of students in music class sang “Mr. Golden Sun,” after they practiced learning the days of the week through song. Kaine also stopped by the school’s library and asked about the school’s various programs and parental participation. Grove Park has the same services — such as nurses — as other Danville public schools.

“If you can make a positive experience for a child and parent,” Principal Lou Ann Long said, “that encourages parent involvement.”

Long explained that preschool better prepares students for elementary school because they are able to bring prior learning experiences to kindergarten and build on that foundation.

“The only other city that I’m aware of that does pre-K like Danville is Hampton,” Kaine said. “… Danville is a real innovator. It really helps students get a great start.”

Kaine said that every year, Virginia spends $75-100 million for students to repeat grades.

“It’s a really needless expense,” he said. “…These pre-K investments are some of the best investments we can make.”