1st kindergarten in Kryoneri (suburb of Athens)
Biographical Info
The 1st kindergarten in Kryoneri is a general preschool setting situated in the northern suburbs of Attica and it is placed next to a primary school. The school operates in a ground-floor building, it has two main classrooms and a smaller auxiliary one which is used as a supporting classroom for inclusive teacher. The building is surrounded by a relatively large yard. As far as the staff in concerned, every class has two female mainstream preschool teachers. The first one teaches during the morning compulsory programme while the second during the optional afternoon programme. Children with special needs are supported both from mainstream teachers and from a special education teacher who divides her time between the two classes during the morning programme. The last two years an English teachers visits every classroom for two hours per week.
Each year the school welcomes approximately forty students, 20% of whom are diagnosed with mild or more severe educational needs. Regarding the socio-economic and cultural background, approximately 80% of the children come from middle-class Greek families with a medium to high educational and financial level, while the other 20% are students from first or second generation families of economic immigrants, mainly from Albania and other Eastern European countries, with a medium to low level of education and a relatively low income. The school staff embraces a rather inclusive culture, trying to adopt practices that promote social justice and combat marginalisation.