Warmer weather brings spring to mind and that means educators are preparing for another round of pre-kindergarten and kindergarten screenings.

Pre-kindergarten screenings are up first, and are held by appointment only. The dates are as follows:

• March 6-9, Beaufort County Ed Tech Center, for Chocowinity Primary, Eastern Elementary and Care-O-World Enrichment Center service areas
• March 13-14, Belhaven Civic Center, for Northeast Elementary, Chocowinity Primary, Eastern Elementary and Care-O-World Enrichment Center service areas
• March 20-21, S.W. Snowden Elementary, for S.W. Snowden Elementary service areas

Three- to 4-year-olds are screened based on DIAL 4 criteria, or the Developmental Indicator for the Assessment of Learning, according to Teresa Smith, pre-K coordinator for Beaufort County Schools.

“The child is screened using this instrument in the areas of concepts, language and motor skills. We also screen vision and hearing for each child,” Smith wrote in an email. “There is a parent self-help and social-emotional questionnaire that parents complete at the screening. The Pre-K application also provides vital information about additional risk factors the child may have.”

After completing these steps, Smith said a list of children to fill the school system’s 180 spots for pre-kindergarten is nailed down, and letters are sent out to parents in May. This does not include the children slated to attend Care-O-World.

“We typically screen around 250 children. Obviously, more children are screened than we have slots for, so there is usually a waiting list at every site,” Smith wrote.

On the heels of pre-K screenings is kindergarten screenings and registration. Those dates and times are as follows:

• Eastern Elementary — March 22-23, 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.; April 26-27, 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.; May 17, 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
• Chocowinity Primary — April 10-11, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Northeast Elementary — TBD
• S.W. Snowden Elementary — April 4-5, 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Gina Resendez, a kindergarten teacher at Eastern Elementary, said the point of a kindergarten screening is to assess a child’s academic level, so he can be placed in the best-fitting classroom environment. Children go through activities such as counting, number recognition, sound recognition and name writing, she said.

Teachers can also gauge a child’s personality and behavior, as well as the attachment level to parents.

“All the kids that come in, we’re not looking for them to be at a certain level,” Resendez explained. “We just use that information to group kids accordingly within classrooms.”

According to Resendez, when parents come in for screening and registration, they should provide two proofs of residency, the child’s certified birth certificate, immunization records and a valid ID, as well as make sure to bring the child along.

For more information, call Teresa Smith at 252-946-6593.