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Part classroom, part museum: Inside a North Texas school's uniquely themed Pre-K

Mansfield ISD’s Dr. Sarah K. Jandrucko Academy is the first of its kind learning environment.

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Mansfield school district is investing in its youngest students.

 "I'm super jealous that I didn't have this growing up as a child," said pre-kindergarten teacher Katie Fleck.  

 The classrooms are like nothing you've seen before.

 "If you notice in the classrooms, we don't have many tables because we want our kids to be up and moving and hands-on, so we have taken things that you can do on paper and pencil and we're given the freedom to create it to life." Fleck said.

Mansfield ISD’s Dr. Sarah K. Jandrucko Academy is the first-of-its-kind learning environment.

Lessons come to life, with the help of some life-sized props and even live animals. Students will spend two weeks at a time at the academy.

 "The building was created and designed to give students those specific experiences for the soul purpose of building that vocabulary and background knowledge that they need to be successful in school," said Kristi Cobb, the Director of Early Literacy

These children are four and five years old – their little brains absorb everything. In Texas, pre-k isn't provided by the district unless the students qualify. The fear is that some don't get anything close to this experience.

"There is a large number of students that depending on income and different needs of the family home may not attend any form of formal education before kindergarten," Cobb said.

Thanks to this new school, open just two weeks, 400 students will now have a unique way to start their lifetime of learning.

"By the time they get to high school, they will be prepared for college," Fleck said.
 

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