Two unrelated alumni with the same last name from the CSDR Class of 2005 chose to settle in Riverside for the same reason. They want to live close to CSDR so their children can be placed in the Early Childhood Education program on the southern section of the school site.
The ECE program went into effect in partnership with the Riverside Unified School District in the early 1990s through the efforts of Dr. Ken and Diane Randall. Diane became the first TK teacher hired by the District. The ECE program with a wait list for admission has been offered for 30 years, long before the TK program became a new state standard for all California children.
TK is a stepping stone between preschool and kindergarten intended to help children develop the skills they need to succeed in school. Like kindergarten, it's optional, and children are only required to attend school once they turn 6.
Both TK and kindergarten are optional. Children are only required to attend school in California once they turn 6. Until that age, it is up to parents to decide whether to enroll their children in kindergarten or preschool or keep them at home.
Deaf educational professionals, however, strongly recommend parents to start their deaf child’s education as early as possible for language and socio-emotional development.
CSDR offers three age-specific programs before kindergarten takes effect: PIP, PS and PK.
PIP stands for Parent Infant Program, which is geared toward babies aged 0-3.
PS refers to pre-school, set up for ages 3-4.
PK is an abbreviation for pre-kindergarten for toddlers at 4-5 years of age.
As we can imagine, if a child has a solid start in PIP and stays in the ECE program for five years, the child will be more than ready to enter kindergarten and make uninterrupted progress for the next 13 years at CSDR.
Kent Turner and his wife, Leila Hanaumi, have two deaf children currently enrolled in the ECE program. Kent came to CSDR for the last six years of his education studies to prepare for college. Both of his parents are proud CSDR alumni. As his parents expected, he blossomed into an all-around student with a solid academic aptitude and active participation in extracurricular activities.
In Fall 2005 Kent headed to Gallaudet in his father’s footsteps to earn a BA degree. As much as he did at CSDR, he enjoyed college life with new friends from all over the country. He met his future wife, Leila, at Gallaudet. Leila grew up at our sister school at Fremont and followed her Dad’s college path to Gallaudet (Don Lee, CSDR, ‘77). To become a teacher, Kent studied at the University of California at San Diego for a state teacher credential and a master’s degree. He started his teaching career at the Texas School for the Deaf. Later on, he made a career change to software engineering. He is an educational game manager to develop games to promote deaf students’ educational and thinking skills.
Holly Turner, ‘05, has deaf children admitted into the ECE program to ensure they develop a strong foundation for success in the K-12 education.
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