Sharing What Works for the Whole Child Assessment and Early Learning Collaboration Bellingham School District Bellingham School District received a competitive WaKIDS grant for $20,000 to pilot WaKIDS implementation strategies. Bellingham School District has approximately 800 kindergartners in 14 schools. STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTATION Intentional Use of WaKIDS Data to Close the Achievement Gap. WaKIDS whole child assessment and data enable our district to plan strategically and individualize instruction. Although we are in our third year of implementation, this is the first year that we have had 100 percent participation. The WaKIDS grant provided resources for the district Director of Early Childhood Education to: • Familiarize all staff who work with early learners with WaKIDS data, and • Facilitate discussions among groups of specialists to utilize data for Response to Intervention (RTI).

To accomplish this work, Bellingham School District provided one day of release time for each group of specialists to meet with the Director of Early Childhood Education, a former WaKIDS teacher. Each of the following groups met as a team: • School Psychologists • Resource Room Teachers • Occupational Therapists/Physical Therapists • Speech and Language Teachers • Specialists who work with English Language Learners • District Administration

• Title One teachers • Music Teachers

The Director of Early Childhood Education provided training on the use of WaKIDS data to these specialists groups. In addition, the various specialist groups had time to meet, plan, implement RTI strategies, and align curriculum with Washington State’s Developmental Early Learning Guidelines. For example, following this training the resource room teachers understood the developmental progressions in GOLD™ and were able to incorporate data into a

student’s IEP. The Physical Education teachers revised their curriculum to incorporate the gross motor objectives from GOLD™. Connect kindergarten teachers with experienced Head Start coaches. During the 2012–13 school year, Bellingham School District received a grant from NWESD 189 to hire Head Start teachers proficient in Teaching Strategies GOLD® to coach the kindergarten teachers. With these grant dollars, Bellingham extended this partnership. The collaboration sessions between these two groups helped us strengthen alignment of best practices, and enhanced early learning collaboration. INTENDED OUTCOMES • Increase inter-rater reliability to 100 percent of our kindergarten teachers • Strengthen the partnership between the Pre-K and K–12 systems • Monitor all students using WaKIDS data • Coach all specialists in using WaKIDS data for Response to Intervention KEY FACTORS TO MAKE THIS STRATEGY WORK • A depth of experience (three years) with WaKIDS • 100 percent participation of all 14 elementary schools • All specialists involved • Using GOLD™ to monitor student growth and use data to close the achievement gap • Documenting and evaluating the work • Working to attain a sustainable model of implementation • Continual refinement and adjustment of the implementation • Sharing our work with OSPI and other districts LESSONS LEARNED—WHAT WE WOULD DO AGAIN • Specialists want to know and understand the data. We recognize that it takes time to learn,

and requires ongoing communication, check-in, and follow-up. • The data mattered more when everyone was taking ownership. It became a living document

that was used not only by specialists but more intentionally by the kindergarten teachers as well. Further, kindergarten teachers felt supported when specialists used the data.

• The specialists went above and beyond expectations. They analyzed their program and revised goals and curriculum.

LESSONS LEARNED—WHAT WE WOULD CHANGE We would not change anything. We still have work to do in some areas. All groups are in different places along a continuum, from a superficial understanding to full implementation. We continue to move along, however.

BENEFIT(S) OR PAYOFF OF USING THIS STRATEGY We have a positive outlook on WaKIDS. Recently, the teachers fought with their own union to have it put into their contract that they would be expected to conduct the whole child assessment in fall, winter, and spring for Not Yet At Standard (NYAS) students. We do not meet to discuss kindergarten students without WaKIDS GOLD™ data at the table. When other districts ask why we are using it multiple times, I will often answer back: “My question for you is, why aren’t you?” The whole child assessment is also a foundation for TPEP conversations for both teachers and specialists. It allows us to have a common language not only within our system but with our Pre-K partners as well. An additional benefit is the increased understanding around child development that everyone has gained from principals, specialists, and teachers. WHAT WE ENCOURAGE OTHER DISTRICTS TO CONSIDER IF THEY ADAPT THIS STRATEGY The benefits of using the data fully begin with using the tool multiple times. To use the whole child assessment for RTI, teachers need to observe over fall, winter, and spring to measure growth. KEY COSTS TO IMPLEMENT Time is the greatest cost. Originally, the Director of Early Childhood Education planned to meet with specialists once or twice. She revised the plan to continually check in with each group. I think without an individual who can lead the work, the time to check in on an ongoing basis would be an additional cost. Our advantage is we have a Director of Early Childhood Education. ABSENT AN EXTERNAL GRANT, RESOURCES THAT CAN HELP Pre-K partners are experts in observational data collection. They also use the data to evaluate the system level work. Tapping into their expertise is a must! FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT Kristi Dominguez, karin.dominguez@bellinghamschools.org