Fund the assistants

They were once called “unsung heroes” because of their tireless dedication in the classroom. Kindergarten assistants are valuable teachers in Fauquier County.

Each day, they work diligently with our 4, 5 and 6 year olds in our county public schools.

In today’s society, when so many parents are hard at work, many times their children are not properly prepared for their first year in the public school system. With great help of the kindergarten assistants, those children are given the direction and tools they will need to have a successful year in school.

The assistants work hand in hand with their certified teacher, creating a foundation of learning for each individual that will carry through a lifetime.

While supervisors are crunching numbers, the kindergarteners, too, are crunching numbers 1 through 100 with the help of the assistants in the classroom.

While board members are projecting what our schools will evolve into, the kindergarten teachers and assistants are projecting letter sounds and recognition, preparing the children for their next step into first grade.

Let’s not forget the SOL’s. All kindergarteners will know the five states that surround Virginia as well as the state capital. That is pretty impressive for a kindergartener.

The kindergarteners in Fauquier County master math and computer lab with the help of their assistants.

Many hands are needed in these situations; however, the outcome to complete a task is so rewarding.

Other activities that engage our assistants daily are checking the children in each morning, attendance, cafeteria and recess duties, bathroom breaks and packing up and bus duties for their safety.

In any down time, if that seems possible, assistants may prepare math folders, correspondence to parents, behavior charts — whatever the teacher may need completed for the following day’s studies. This is all done as a team effort for success in the kindergarten classroom.

This is the day and life of a kindergarten assistant. They are “the unsung heroes” that are asking the school system, taxpayers and supervisors to keep in force. They are the most cost-effective asset in today’s classroom.

I certainly hope we can continue our steps forward in holding onto our unsung heroes.

Andrea Gillis

Warrenton