Skootenay principal updates board on two-year 'Kinder Strong Start' pilot, district to collect data before decision

Denise Meersch, principal at Skootenay, told the Othello School District Board of Directors on a recent night that the district's two-year Kinder Strong Start pilot used smaller groups and shortened initial days to help kindergarten students adjust to school.
The program, she said, was designed to build routines, reduce transition anxiety and give teachers more time for early observations and relationship building.
Meersch said the pilot began two years ago after staff noticed incoming kindergarten students with high needs — including many on individualized education programs, students receiving speech therapy and a large number of multilingual learners. “We thought if they only went two days a week, they could get in and learn the routines,” Meersch said. “Fewer students, you could give them more individual attention and therefore start really building those relationships.”
Meersch described how the first year used a two-week staggered schedule (groups A and B on different days) and that staff later reduced it to a one-week stagger because teachers felt they could accomplish the same goals more quickly. She said the work was intentionally “go slow to go fast,” bringing smaller cohorts first to build classroom stamina before integrating all students.
The principal explained how the district assesses kindergarten readiness. WA Kids, a statewide developmental assessment, covers six domains — social-emotional, physical, language and others — and is largely observational. “When we give kinders assessments … it’s really observational, and it’s through play,” Meersch said. She added that the STAR assessment is the only part that typically uses computers and takes about 10 minutes.
Board members pressed Meersch on how the district will measure student experience, not just adult opinions. One director asked, “How are you going to get that data? Not from the parents or teachers, but from the kids?” Meersch replied that much of the evidence is observational and gathered during the first weeks and through required state tools; she said some measures must wait until students have been in class long enough to be meaningfully assessed.
Superintendent Dr. Perez told the board the district will collect feedback from teachers, parents, students and administrators and use the resulting data to recommend whether to continue or change the model for the 2026–27 school year. No policy change or formal vote occurred at the meeting; the item was presented as an informational update.
Board members also asked for district data about teacher certifications for early grades and for a clearer count of staff with early-learning preparation; staff committed to provide that information.
Meersch concluded that, while final evaluation is still pending, the staff saw a generally positive start this year and will use both qualitative feedback and assessment timelines to make a recommendation to the board.
Looking ahead, district staff said they will present gathered data and teacher/parent feedback before the board decides whether to adopt, modify or end the Kinder Strong Start model for the 2026–27 school year.