CAN WE PREPARE OUR
CHILDREN FOR KINDERGARTEN?
Rick Donahoe, Grant Manager
Children’s Reading Foundation
Vice President, Richland School Board
Erich Bolz, Assistant Superintendent
Special Programs, RTI, Teaching Learning &Curriculum
Richland School District
WHY SHOULD WE CARE ABOUT SCHOOL READINESS?
What is the responsibility of the local school district in ensuring school readiness?
SHOULD WE EVEN CARE ABOUT PREPARING STUDENTS FOR KINDERGARTEN?
These kids aren’t our problem Our focus is K-12 The kindergarten teachers will fix
them
IMPACT OF POVERTY ON ACHIEVEMENT
HOW DOES K-READINESS PREDICT THE FUTURE OF STUDENTS?
TEST SCORES FROM 8 MILLION STUDENTS BASED ON NWEA DATA (2014)
WHY CAN’T OUR KINDER TEACHERS CATCH UP STUDENTS?
TEST SCORES FROM 8 MILLION STUDENTS BASED ON NWEA DATA (2014)
SCHOOL READINESS - DOES IT MATTER?
“It is common to find within a kindergarten classroom a five-year range in children’s literacy-related skills...(some) may have skills characteristic of the typical three-year-old, while others might be functioning on the level of the typical eight-year-old.”
~ Dr. Jeni Riley, University of London as quoted in a joint position statement of the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the International Reading Association
WHAT IS RSD DOING?
Partners for Early Learning (PFEL) http://partnersforearlylearning.org
Communities in Schools (CIS) Initiative
National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS)
READY! for Kindergarten™ Reach Out and Read International Reading Foundation
*HIGHLY INTERACTIVE TRAINING
TOPICS OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT2014-2015
Topics generated with participant inputThe Road to Reading: Engaging Parents in Their Children’s
LearningEarly Math & Number SenseGLAD-Guided Language Acquisition DesignDifficult People, Difficult Messages(2
sessions)STEM: It’s Not Too Early –STEM Education
Collaboration
WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF EARLY
LEARNING
INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO LITERACY GRANT
National Children’s Reading Foundation
Grant Director
2 year, $3.8M U.S. Department of Education
Second Literacy grant
Very High Poverty Communities
GRANT STUDY RESULTSDR. PAUL STRAND, WSU-TC, 2014.
Fall Class Spring Class0
2
4
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10
12
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Figure 1. Literacy Assessment Outcomes for Entire Sample
Letter Naming Letter Sounds
HOW CAN DISTRICT’S FUND EARLY EDUCATION?
Title 1 DEL grants Basic Education Levy Grass Roots Funding Grant Seeking
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PROGRAMS
Head Start ECEAP All Day Kindergarten READY! for Kindergarten™ Reach Out and Read Dolly Parton Imagination Library Partnership with the Early Learning
Community
WHAT CAN YOU DO AS A SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER?SUPERINTENDENT?
Direct funding to Early Education
Most Cost Effective Solution Recognize your Kinder teachers
cannot catch up all students to grade level
DD pre-schools in your schools Parental involvement with their pre-k kids at your schools
WHY SHOULD WE CARE ABOUT SCHOOL READINESS?
What is the responsibility of the local school district in ensuring school readiness?
Questions?
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