Aligning the early years on a continuum of birth through grade 3 learning and development

Focusing on the support of every child’s growth and development from birth to third grade

Looking at the diversity of programs, purposes, and philosophies that serve children and families from birth to age 8

Promoting success by ensuring access, quality, continuity, family involvement

The Achievement Gap

Pre K Fade Out

Lack of shared belief about the purpose of early learning programs

Research

Expanded policies at the federal, state, and local levels that address access, funding, transitions, and require collaboration for all children and families

Established standards that reflect high expectations and that cross both programs and age levels birth through third grade

Alignment of curriculum, assessment, instruction so that children are supported in their learning on a continuum throughout the early years

Family education and support at birth and in the first 3 years

Voluntary, universal access to quality preschool (3 and 4 year old) programs

Mandatory full day kindergarten Preschool and primary grade alignment of

standards, assessment purposes/tools, learning plans and desired outcomes

High quality teacher/staff preparation and professional development/career ladders

Family-School-Community partnerships

Agreeing on learning standards prenatal through K and beyond.

Teacher prep…same expectations for all Defining high quality classrooms/early learning

environments. Agreeing what “developmentally appropriate

practice” is and what “inclusive” means. Cultural competence. Promoting intentional curricula. Providing social/emotional consultation/early

intervention services Leadership. Parent involvement related to learning. Research!

Funded by the Foundation for Child Development and others, the PreK-3rd Initiative is designed to create a new first level of American education that begins in prekindergarten and extends through 3rd.

Models: Ready Schools Miami…where “adopting a universal and unified PreK-3rd approach is crucial for a comprehensive transformation of America’s public education system.”

Language and literacy: data-driven instruction and increased time in the classroom on learning activities

Curriculum alignment: strategies to help districts, administrators and teachers align curriculum across content areas and PK–3 grades.

Family engagement: techniques for building reading, numeracy, and rich conversations into daily routines at home; involving parents in literacy-rich activities at the school; strengthening teacher-parent relationships through home visits and other approaches.

Socio-emotional behaviors and climate: strategies for effective behavior management, strengthening self-regulation and executive functioning; and creating a positive climate in classrooms and school-wide.

After-school: strategies for integrating in-school curricula with after-school practices, increasing participation in out-of-school programs, and partnerships with community providers of after-school activities. 

Alignment across PK to third grade: best practices for developing common planning time across grades, integrating data on children’s learning and behavior across grades.

Integration: successful techniques for effectively layering interventions over time and for integrating school, family, and after-school interventions around important goals such as increased vocabulary.

Individual efforts to align pre-K with elementary (i.e. Whatcom Day Academy)

Nooksack Valley Collaboration for Children (horizontal and vertical alignment)

Gates School District Early Learning Leadership Grant…and school district-OC partnerships

High Scope Perry Preschool Project The Carolina Abecedarian Project Chicago Parent Child Centers Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-

Kindergarten Cohort National Head Start/Public School Early

Childhood Transition Demonstration Project Early Language and Literacy Studies (Heath,

Wells, National Research Council, etc.)