The students at the John W. Decas Elementary school will soon be the recipients of a dynamic, new way to learn.

Elementary Principal Donna Noonan and kindergarten teachers of the school discussed the Focus on K2 program with the School Committee at the Committee’s meeting on Wednesday night.

For the past month, Noonan said, the teachers have prepared for the program and moved their classrooms around to accommodate it. Some teachers asked to come in on days off and weekends to prepare for the program.

Training on the Focus on K2 program was developed by the Boston Public School system. Though the program currently only includes kindergarten, it will eventually encompass grades 1 and 2, once those programs are developed. It focuses on literacy, reading and writing, speaking and language skills.

Stations are set up in the classrooms, each for a different purpose and each equipped with literature for further reading on specific themes. There will be seven centers, including a reading and writing center, a block area, a science center, and an art center. Though the children will be able to move more freely about the building, they are still given instruction and assignments at each center. As a result, the program will allow children more control over their education.

“Do you know how huge it is to hear teachers say they enjoy becoming facilitators of education rather than just standing up there and preaching?” said committee member Geoff Swett. “That's a huge shift in the way education is perceived.”

It will integrate common core standards while focusing on four categories rather than the usual 8-10: the community, animals and habitats, construction, and the earth. Each theme will build upon the others.

Children will learn what it means to be a citizen within the classroom first, moving to bigger communities as they advance.

Focus on K2 is the newest academic initiative in the district. The high school recently became an International Baccalaureate candidate school, and there is a dual enrollment program currently offered to eighth graders who wish to take high school courses in the morning.

“I have parents say to me, will you guys ever stop changing things?” Swett said at the meeting, “And my response is: organizations that stop changing, die.”

He urged teachers to communicate with parents and let them know that not all changes are bad. Though Swett admitted that “not all changes are necessarily positive,” he confidently said that “this one certainly is [a positive change].”

Other discussions during the committee meeting included an additional day to the end of the school calendar (which was miscalculated before), the Jumprope for Heart fundraiser on March 19, and further discussion on House Bill 340 concerning the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System. The bill only concerns the state of Massachusetts and would put MCAS testing on a 3 year suspension until a new version is created if passed.