‘Every day with Norah is a gift’: Pre-K class at St. John’s School in Hollywood, Maryland, includes little girl with Down syndrome
This school year, the 19 pre-kindergarten students at St. John’s Catholic School in Hollywood, Maryland, will be learning lessons about working and playing together and sharpening their skills with letters, numbers, colors and shapes.
On the third week of school, Trish Mattingly, St. John’s pre-kindergarten teacher, said a key priority has been helping the young students “getting their schedule and routine down, (understanding) what comes next in our day.”
But those children are also learning something else, as this year St. John’s School has launched a new inclusion program and welcomed Norah Smith, a 4-year-old girl with Down syndrome, into the pre-kindergarten class.