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Welcome to the NC Ready Schools Learning
Community. This e-Newsletter has been
developed by The North Carolina Partnership for
Children, Inc. to keep you
informed regarding the Ready Schools
Initiative in North Carolina and across the
country. Please feel free to forward it to
others or email kmccrimon@ncsmartstart.org to
subscribe. We welcome your input and
feedback. |
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Catawba
County |
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Catawba County's Ready Schools Task Force
will have a wonderful opportunity to help bridge
the gap between the early childhood world and the
elementary school world coming up on Saturday, May
16! Dr. Jean Feldman will be in town conducting a
workshop, sponsored by the Catawba County
Partnership for Children's Professional
Development Committee. Dr. Jean Feldman is a
nationally known author, recording artist, and
teacher. Thankfully, despite the economy,
they've had a great response, hitting the maximum
of 750 registered participants. The Ready
Schools group is going to use the
lunch break that day to facilitate an
activity for the early childhood and elementary
school participants to work together at their
tables, to get to know each other as people and to
understand the important role they all play in the
ultimate academic success of each child they
serve. They hope this event will be the
first of many opportunities for these two groups
to learn from each other and appreciate each
other's impact on Catawba County's children and
families. |
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New Ready Schools
Grants! |
Sixteen counties (21 school systems) were
selected to participate in the 2009/2010 Ready
Schools Grant Program! This year's proposals
were excellent and the selection committee had a
difficult time making a decision. Each
grantee will receive a grant of $4000 - $5000 as
well as the services of a Technical Assistance
Facilitator for the next year. They will
also have a chance to participate in a range of
technical assistance activities. Some of
these technical assistance resources will also be
offered to those that did not receive the
grants. These professional development
programs will be posted to this e-newsletter so
stay tuned to learn more or email kmccrimon@ncsmartstart.org if
you have particular technical assistance needs
related to your ready schools
initiative. Congratulations to the 2009/2010
Ready Schools Grantees: Alamance, Alexander,
Buncombe, Carteret, Catawba, Chapel Hill/Carrboro,
Cumberland, Davidson, Edgecombe, Lenoir, Robeson,
Stokes, Union, Wayne, Yadkin and Yancey
counties. |
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Stimulus Package
Money and Ready Schools |
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Several Several of the provisions listed in
the Stimulus Package (American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act 2009) will have
possible implications for
Ready Schools.
- Uses of Title I, Part A Recovery
Funds
View estimates of how much each local education
agency in North Carolina is currently
allocated.
www.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/titlei/fy09recovery/northcarolina.pdf
Listed below are some examples of
potential uses of the Title I, Part A recovery
funds that are allowable under Title I and
consistent with ARRA principles and Ready
Schools. For the complete list visit
http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/recovery/factsheet/title-i.html
- Establish a system for identifying and
training highly effective teachers to serve as
instructional leaders in Title I school-wide
programs and modifying the school schedule to
allow for collaboration among the instructional
staff;
- Strengthen and expand early childhood
education by providing resources to align a
district-wide Title I pre-K program with state
early learning standards and state content
standards for grades K-3 and, if there is a plan
for sustainability beyond 2010-11, expanding
high-quality Title I pre-K programs to larger
numbers of young children;
- Use longitudinal data systems to drive
continuous improvement efforts focused on
improving achievement in Title I schools;
- Provide professional development to teachers
in Title I targeted assistance programs on the
use of data to inform and improve instruction
for Title I-eligible students;
- Establish or expand fiscally sustainable
extended learning opportunities for Title
I-eligible students in targeted assistance
programs, including activities provided before
school, after school, during the summer, or over
an extended school
year.
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Study Says Most 1st
Grade Classes are Not High
Quality |
After studying 820 first grade classes,
researchers conclude that many are not warm,
friendly, or as academically stimulating as they
should be. The research published in
this month's Elementary School Journal found
only 23% of the classrooms studied to have high
quality instructional practices and social,
emotional practices. To read more about the
study visit,
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Crisis in Kindergarten as
Playtime Disappears |
The Alliance for Childhood ( http://www.allianceforchildhood.org/newsroom)
reports that even though there is a multitude
of research that supports the positive benefits of
play; kindergarten classrooms across the United
States often leave "playtime" out of the school
day. In a recent research paper, called Crisis in
Kindergarten- Why Children Need Play in
School a group of researchers from UCLA, Long
Island University and Mary Lawrence College
studied 268 full-day kindergarten classrooms and
reported their findings and recommendations.
They found in kindergarten classrooms in New York
and California that:
- On a typical day, kindergartners spent two
to three hours per day being instructed and
tested in literacy and math compared to
30 minutes or less in free play or
"choice time". In many classrooms,
playtime was not evident at all.
- Children were daily engaged in
standardized testing or
test preparation activities, despite the
negative research findings on these types
of activities.
Researchers suggest in Chapter 8 of
their report the following six recommendations for
education policymakers, school administrators,
teachers, and parents.
- Restore child-initiated play and
experiential learning with the active support of
teachers to their rightful place at the heart of
kindergarten education.
- Reassess kindergarten standards to ensure
that they promote developmentally appropriate
practices, and eliminate those that do not.
- End the inappropriate use in kindergarten of
standardized tests, which are prone to serious
error especially when given to children under
age eight.
- Expand the early childhood research agenda
to examine the long-term impact of current
preschool and kindergarten practices on the
development of children from diverse
backgrounds.
- Give teachers of young children first-rate
preparation that emphasizes the full development
of the child and the importance of play,
nurtures children's innate love of learning, and
supports teachers' own capacities for
creativity, autonomy, and integrity.
- Use the crisis of play's disappearance from
kindergarten to rally organizations and
individuals to create a national movement for
play in schools and communities.
To read the complete research report, Crisis
in Kindergarten- Why Children Need Play in School,
visit
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A Spotlight on the Ready
Schools
Pathways
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Leaders and Leadership:
Principals Lead the Way for
PK-3 |
The Foundation for Child Development
published an article sharing the lessons
learned from principals across the country
who were actively leading the PK-3
movement in their district. From interviews,
several common themes emerged as principals talked
about their successful PK-3 systems. They
found that successful PK-3 systems had:
- Strong PK-3 Alignment
- Strong Principal Leadership
- High Quality, On-Going
Professional Development
- Strong Focus on Student Achievement and
Results
- Strong PK-3 Alignment
http://www.fcd-us.org/usr_doc/PrincipalsLeadTheWayForPK3.pdf
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PK-3 Teaching: 10 Components
of Effective Instruction |
The
Foundation for Child Development (FCD) published a
brief called Core Knowledge for PK-3 Teaching: Ten
Components of Effective Instruction. In this
policy brief, the author Michael Sadowski
outlines 10 critical components that
should be present in an effective PK-3
learning environment. They are:
- Knowledge of Child Development
- Methods for Teaching Diverse Children
- Use of Multiple Forms of Assessment
- Organization of the Learning
Environment
- Curriculum Design
that Helps Children Make Connections
- Strategic Use of Resources and Technology
- Parent and Family Outreach
- Professional Collaboration
and Development
- Reflection for Enhanced Teaching
- Vertical Alignment
http://www.plan4preschool.org/documents/core-knowledge.pdf |
Professional
Development/
Trainings/Conferences
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Pre-K- K Building Blocks
Workshop |
Investigate appropriate mathematical
experiences for PreK-K students, discuss research
findings, and explore technology for 3-, 4- and
5-year olds at Meredith College's PreK-K
Math Institute July 28-29. These sessions
will be conducted by nationally recognized
early childhood researcher and author Doug
Clements. This hands-on workshop will provide
opportunities for participants to focus on
supporting the mathematical growth and development
of young learners. Bring your laptop if you have
one available!
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Mark your calendar
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Are You on the
Map? |
It's time to update the Ready Schools
map. What ready schools activities are
happening in your community? Are there new
schools participating? Do you have a
community Ready Schools Team? Do you have a
conference or professional development opportunity
to share? If so, send your stories
aannouncements to kmccrimon@ncsmartstart.org
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Sincerely,
Kirsten McCrimon The North
Carolina Partnership for Children, Inc.
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