Emmylou Hernandez touched the head of each of her classmates with a wand, counting out loud. When she completed the circle, she turned to her 4K/Early Childhood teacher Debbie Klinger and proudly said, “Eleven.”

“And…,” the teacher guided her.

Emmylou smiled, turned the wand and gently tapped the top of her own head, then just as enthusiastically and with a little bounce proclaimed, “Twelve.”

Emmylou, the teacher’s helper for the day, then wrote the number one on the board, and traced the number two after Klinger wrote it because “it’s a tough one,” Klinger said, then turned to the rest of the class as Klinger asked why the number was important and must remain large on the board all day long.

It is a scene typical of the 4K class at Bancroft School, and one that community members want to see remain intact.

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