Coffeyville ? A new kindergarten classroom in southeastern Kansas will be located inside a nursing home.

The classes in the Coffeyville school district will start Aug. 25 at Windsor Place nursing home as part of a program called Age to Age.

State and local officials attended a ceremony Friday marking the program. The class space was colored brightly and made where three residential rooms were previously located.

Officials said the children could help with the home’s biggest challenges of boredom, loneliness and helplessness of the residents.

The home will lose an estimated $300,000 in annual income by removing the three residential rooms, but officials said the company is committed to quality, not quantity.

Sherri Chittum, who will be teaching the 20 children whose families volunteered to participate in the program along with a teacher’s aide, said there are already activities scheduled between the kindergartners and the residents.

School board President Helen Ellerman said the school district already has had programs in conjunction with the nursing home and the classroom.

Gayle Doll, from Kansas State University, said she will be conducting a yearlong study of the program to see whether it really does have a positive effect on the residents. If so, she said they hope to replicate it in other communities.

District Superintendent Robert Morton is working with Wichita State University on a similar study to determine the impact on the kindergarten students.

A similar program in Jenks, Okla., provided the original inspiration for Coffeyville’s program.

Kansas Board of Education member Jana Shaver said one of the board’s goals is for good school-community connection and the Age to Age program is a perfect example of such a connection.