As teachers nationwide prepare to head back to the classroom, they’ll face several monumental tasks: learning the names of a whole new class of students; establishing routines and expectations unique to their class; and, eventually, discovering each learner’s strengths and weaknesses. For preschool teachers at Capital City Public Charter School in the District of Columbia, these tasks will be cut in half.
The public charter school “loops” its 3- and 4-year-old classes, meaning teachers spend two consecutive years with each of their students before they move on to kindergarten.
Although looping is fairly rare in most parts of the nation—federal data from 2017-18 put the practice at around 12% of the nation’s public schools, with wide variation among states—research, educators, and advocates of the practice point to its many benefits: improved academic performance, behavior, and attendance. Early education experts say it’s particularly beneficial for the youngest learners.
“That first five years is just so critical, not just for learning, but also regarding the social- emotional patterns that form,” said Elena Nitecki, the chair of the department of Early Childhood & Childhood Education at Mercy University in New York. “And if kids don’t have a solid attachment to some stable adult in their life in the first five years, there [are] major problems later on.”
Looping in early education creates the conditions for that solid child–adult attachment.
A long-standing approach to early education gains renewed interest
Looping isn’t a new idea. Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher, scientist and educator born in 1861, developed the Waldorf method, a child-centric approach to learning that emphasized the student-teacher relationship and encompassed looping, especially in the early years. Waldorf schools still exist and practice looping today.
While the practice hasn’t spread widely to traditional public preschools, experts say it is worth considering—especially as states seek to expand access to pre-K and, simultaneously, early education teachers report a lack of readiness among incoming students.
“People are trying to figure out pre-K, and looping is a good thing to look at,” Nitecki said.
Looping: Part of the solution to young learners’ lack of social-emotional maturity?
Many early educators report that today’s students are entering preschool less prepared to learn than their predecessors, especially from a social-emotional perspective. For instance, the EdWeek Research Center in January surveyed 1,163 educators and administrators who work with children in pre-K through 3rd grade. The majority of survey respondents reported that their current students are struggling more than they did just two years ago with sharing, cooperating with others, taking turns, and following instructions.
Similarly, in an EdWeek social media post this spring that asked teachers what skills they think are most important for “kindergarten readiness,” most of the responses and related comments cited emotional self-regulation as a top concern.
“We’ve seen a large increase in the inability for students to cope when things don’t go their way. We see a lot of crying, yelling, shutting down, gross overreactions,” Ian Knox, the principal of Hamagrael Elementary School, part of the Bethlehem Central school district in upstate New York, told EdWeek.
Looping builds trust in students and families
Nitecki in 2017 published a report that examined a case study conducted at a preschool that practiced looping. The most notable benefit she observed? Consistent relationships with students and families over time. Not surprisingly, preschool students who spend two consecutive years with the same classroom teacher are more likely to form a solid attachment with them—as are their parents or guardians.
The long-term relationship between educator and student helps build trust, says Katrina Fernandez, the principal at D.C.’s Capital City Public Charter’s lower school, which has been looping its preschool program since its inception 15 years ago.
“We’re an EL [English Learner] school, and a big part of the programming is building strong relationships and community and culture,” Fernandez said. “When you have students who start with one teacher at the age of 3 and loop again with them as a 4-year-old, you really get to build deep relationships, and parents get to know the teacher.”
Peer-to-peer learning benefits both older and younger classmates
While it takes time to build a trusting relationship, Fernandez notes that some benefits of looping come quickly for both older and younger students.
As for the 4-year-olds, the sense of familiarity they bring to the classroom the second year—with the system and its structure and routines, with the teacher and his or her expectations—creates confidence and leadership.
“And then you have these new 3-year-olds, and they follow along and they start to gain more confidence,” Fernandez said.
She also believes that the “peer-to-peer learning” in the mixed-age classrooms gives the younger students an advantage. They witness their older classmates and how they hold a pencil, handle books, collaborate, and negotiate during play—and they learn.
Meeting the challenges of a mixed-age classroom
While the benefits of looping are real, it’s not without challenges, say educators practiced in the approach.
Meeting the needs of students in different stages of development is one of the most obvious hurdles, Fernandez said. In response, she said the school offers robust professional support to its preschool teachers so they can plan lessons that offer both overarching objectives as well as differentiated targets.
“One of the things we sometimes talk about is: All will do, most will do, and some will do,” she said.
Providing an appropriate amount of guidance for all children in the same classroom—some of whom need more independence and others who require more support—can also be challenging, Fernandez admits. Having three adults in every classroom—a lead teacher, an associate teacher, and an assistant teacher—allows for student differentiation.
“If you went into a classroom, you wouldn’t be able to tell really, other than size-wise, who’s 3 and who’s 4,” Fernandez said. “They’re all grouped together, constantly working together and growing together.”
