October 2003 — Features
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Wireless Tots
Primrose School Launches First Wireless Technology Program for Preschoolers
The first wireless technology program for preschoolers was implemented in January at the Primrose School at Bentwater in Atlanta, Ga., a new corporate school operated by Primrose School Franchising Co. The new school serves as a testing and training facility for groundbreaking educational approaches, including emerging innovations in curriculum and technology. And unlike most of its competitors, the company is proud of the fact that Primrose Schools has gone through the rigorous process of accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
The Atlanta-based national franchise company has 109 schools and is building its new national headquarters next door to its Bentwater school. Primrose will use this convenient school location to test ideas such as using laptop computers. Parents' top priorities are their children's safety and happiness. Yet, they also want their children to learn as much as possible while in a quality preschool environment.
Cathy Lilley enrolled her 4-year-old daughter, Kianna, at the Bentwater Primrose School after studying the curriculum, which revolves around themes such as air transportation and life in the ocean. "I'm making sure [Kianna] is going to be ready for kindergarten," says Lilley. "I like that they already have her on the computer."
Balanced Learning
The National Education Goals Panel's report, "Reconsidering Children's Early Development and Learning: Toward Common Views and Vocabulary," identifies five key areas that define a child's readiness to attend school and his or her ability to participate in a learning environment:
1. Physical well-being and motor development
2. Social and emotional development
3. Approaches toward learning
4. Language development
5. Cognition and general knowledge
Primrose Schools recognizes the necessity and value of well-planned, developmentally appropriate experiences for children. Its philosophy carefully blends child-initiated and teacher-directed activities - combining the two leading philosophies in early childhood education, while adding the special Primrose focus on character and values. The child-initiated approach inspires students to think for themselves and explore their own abilities, while teachers guide them to a love of learning and prepare them for success. This exclusive, highly successful approach is what Primrose calls "Balanced Learning."
Primrose searched for a technology solution that would be consistent with the Balanced Learning approach, while still meeting the needs of its teachers and students. A National Research Council study stated that: "appropriate stimuli, such as close interaction with caring adults and engaging hands-on activities, enhance the brain's development." It went on to report that "a number of the features of the new technologies are consistent with the principles of a new science of learning." It was important to Primrose to create such an environment of technology use.
