Future Wildcats? Northwestern Welcomes Preschool Children to Campus

EVANSTON, Ill. – It’s never too early to start thinking about education. Earlier this month, three classrooms of preschool children visited Northwestern's campus for a field trip hosted by the Jumpstart program, an early education initiative run by Northwestern’s Center for Civic Engagement. 

More than 50 preschoolers from the Howard Area Community Center in Rogers Park gathered on the Norris University Center lawn on June 2 to play games and interact with Northwestern students.

“The preschoolers usually are really excited to be here,” Jumpstart team leader Bella Sandoval said. “It’s like a field trip for them."

The children received a tour of campus, watched a performance by the Griffin's Tale Children's Theatre Repertory Company and learned the fight song from Northwestern's marching band. Volunteers from the Women's Fencing and Men's Football teams also shared their athletic skills with the students.

“It was a really wonderful opportunity for the children to really build excitement around college and see some of the great opportunities you can have in college in theater and music and athletics, in addition to academics,” Jumpstart program coordinator Micaela Moran said.

Jumpstart is a national early education organization that recruits and trains college students to work with preschool children in classrooms in low-income neighborhoods. The research-based curriculum helps children develop the language and literacy skills they need to be ready for kindergarten, setting them on a path to close the achievement gap.  Around 40 Northwestern students dedicate nearly 300 hours each year to the Jumpstart program.