Middletown Public Schools' Kindergarten Preparatory Academy (KPA), now entering its second year of implementation for the 2025-2026 school year, offers a full-day transition to kindergarten program.
KPA allows our youngest learners the opportunity to transition into an environment that offers intellectual development in a more holistic and child-centered learning environment that addresses the academic, social, and personal developmental needs of all children. The program merges traditional preschool/pre-k objectives (such as Language Development, Literacy skills, Numeracy skills and Social Emotional outcomes) with curriculum and instruction that blends kindergarten learning objectives into a play-based curriculum.
The main focus of KPA and its curriculum is to provide the time for our youngest learners to mature and develop their skills, so that they are able to continue to progress. Students engage in developing skills through the use of centers, small group instruction, and instructional practices that allow for self regulation, improved executive functioning, working memory, and social growth. Students are offered the opportunity to discover the joy of learning and to develop a strong belief in their own abilities, better preparing them to succeed.
KPA provides full-day programming that includes transportation, breakfast, and lunch, as well as access to support services within the district/school building.
*What's a 'Ber Baby?
Kids who were born in September, October, November, and December are known as "'Ber Babies." Due to a legal change in the state of Connecticut, 'Ber Babies don't qualify for automatic kindergarten entry in the school year that they turn 5 years old, as the law requires children to be 5 years old on or before September 1 of the year they enter kindergarten. KPA is designed exclusively for 'Ber Babies.
