Comprehensive P-3 Approach for Closing the … P-3 Approach for Closing the Achievement Gap Bobbie Burnham, ... of college success are often determined long before ... The pathway

Comprehensive P-3 Approach

for Closing the Achievement Gap

Bobbie Burnham, Director Division of Early Learning Services

MDE

Cross-Sector Work

Administrators

Teachers

Instructional Tools

Learning Environment

Data-Driven Improvement

Family Engagement

Continuity and Pathways

Comprehensive P-3

Approach

education.state.mn.us 2

…the recent focus on high school reform and policies to expand college access and completion ignores the very strong body of evidence that a student’s chances of college success are often determined long before he or she enrolls in high school. The pathway to college graduation starts not in high school, but in kindergarten or preschool.

Guernsey & Mead, 2010


Research indicates that as much as one-third to one-half of the gap between the average achievement of black and white students in American schools exists before children start first grade, as a result of tremendous disparities in children’s early learning experiences. By the time they turn three years old, children from the most disadvantaged families will have heard 3 million fewer words in their lifetimes than children of professional parents.

Guernsey & Mead, 2010

Prenatal – 3rd Grade Pathways to Readiness

Grades 1-3: Foundation for Lifelong Learning

Full-day Kindergarten

Voluntary High-Quality PreK

Birth to 3: Crucial Brain Development Home Visiting –Quality Infant/Toddler Care- Parenting Classes and

Supports 0-3yrs

3/4yrs

5yrs

6-8yrs Before / After / Summer School Programs

Family Engagem

ent & Com

munity O

utreach

“World’s Best Workforce” means striving to: • Have all students meet school readiness goals • Have all third grade students achieve grade-level

literacy • Close the academic achievement gap among all racial

and ethnic groups of students and between students living in poverty and their more privileged peers as well as students receiving special education services and those that are not.

• Have all students graduate from high school • Have all students attain college and career

preparedness

World’s Best Workforce - Legislation


• Universal access to voluntary, high-quality pre-kindergarten programs for all 3- and 4-year-olds whose parents want pre-K

• Universal full-day kindergarten • Quality, developmentally appropriate curriculum, standards and

assessments aligned from pre-K through third grade • Qualified teachers with both a bachelor’s degree and specialized

training in how young children learn • Opportunities for teachers to share data, planning, and

professional development within and across grade levels • Strong leadership committed to providing children with a seamless

educational experience • Opportunities for parent and community engagement Source: “America’s Vanishing Potential: The Case for PreK-3rd Education” (New York: Foundation for Child Development, 2008).

Key Features of PreK-3rd Programs


P-3 Alignment Must Exist Within Each Age/Grade Level and Across Levels

0-3 PreK Full Day K 1st Grade

2nd Grade

3rd Grade

With

in

With

in

With

in

With

in

With

in

With

in

Kauerz, 2011

0-2 PreK Full Day K 1st Grade

2nd Grade

3rd Grade

Across

PreK-3 Feedback Loops: Intentional Alignment of Curriculum, Assessments, & Instruction

Preschool Data

Kindergarten Data

Kindergarten Data

1st Grade Data

1st Grade Data

2nd Grade Data

2nd Grade Data

3rd Grade Data

Making a Difference: 10 Essential Steps To Building a PreK-3 System of Support Linda Sullivan-Dudzic, Donna K. Gearns, Kelli Leavell

• Partnerships • Leadership • Blending and Braiding Funding Sources • Professional Development and Coaching • Data Driven Continuous Improvement • Fidelity to Implementation

Where to start…


School District

Community Education

School Readiness ECFE

Early Childhood Special Education

Infant and Toddler Early Intervention

Preschool Special

Education

Community-Based

Head Start

Early Head Start

Child Care

Licensed Child Care

centers and

homes

Family Friend

and Neighbor

Faith Based and

Privately owned

preschools

Early Care and Education Systems Must Be Linked!

Collaborative Partnerships

Coordinated Professional Development - Transition Plans – Data-driven Improvement


Full-Day Kindergarten

Head

Sta

rt

Scho

ol-b

ased

Pre

K

Child

Car

e

Hom

e Vi

sitin

g

Early

Inte

rven

tion

FAMILIES

The Kindergarten Transition Pipeline

District & Community Transition Plan

FAMILIES

• The transition between early care and education needs to be seamless.

• Schools have a vested interest in school readiness…WBWF.

• Every community has at least one elementary school.

• All children have access to public schools. • Schools can and should support child care and Head

Start programs. • Child care and Head Start programs can and should

support public schools.

Why should public schools be involved with children before kindergarten?


• Partnerships support a seamless system of care

and education, ensuring a smooth transition. • Partnerships can help coordinate community

resources to help all children achieve to high standards.

• Schools and community programs can help families develop and maintain social networks.

Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes | www.ceelo.org

What roles should school-community partnerships play in early childhood?


• Teachers may not be prepared to work with young children.

• Administrators may not be prepared to work with children, families, or teachers.

• Programs view each other as competitors for limited resources and children.

• Differences in credentials and compensation can create barriers.

• Coordination can be complicated and time-consuming.


What challenges do school-community partnerships face in early childhood?


• Preschool and kindergarten teachers need training

in early childhood education. • School and preschool administrators need training

in early childhood development and learning. • Preschool and kindergarten teachers and

administrators need training in family engagement and cultural/ linguistic/economic diversity.

• Program administrators and teachers must understand and use common data to improve services/outcomes.

• Teachers and administrators need training and time to work across programs.


What are the key issues for partnership development?


• Research shows that leadership is the second most important influence on student learning in schools.

• Leadership is critical to improving the most important factor…teaching.

• Leadership and teaching must be joined together in mutually reinforcing ways to achieve greater impact.

• Leaders must develop a building culture that facilitates “good places for adult learning”

Steve Tozer, 2015

Leadership…


¾ Embrace the pre-K-3 early-learning continuum;

¾ Ensure developmentally appropriate teaching;

¾ Provide personalized learning environments; ¾ Use multiple measures of assessment to guide

student learning growth; ¾ Build professional capacity across the learning

community; and ¾ Make schools a hub of pre-K-3 learning for families

and communities. Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes | www.ceelo.org

National Assoc. of Elementary School Principals suggests that Principals:


2015-16 P3 Leadership Series

• Elementary and Charter School Leaders • 5 Sessions, October, 2015 to April, 2016 • Series is based on Leading PreK-3

Learning Communities: Competencies for Effective Principal Practice (from the NAESP)

• Principal and team member (day 1 is Superintendent)

• Mix of national and local P3 experts (FirstSchool, U of M, Minnesota principals)

• Focus on implementation and best practice


January, 2016 GOALS: • Create a sustainable implementation plan for an aligned PreK-3rd

Grade system for your early learning community

• Build cohesive relationships between the early childhood community and the local elementary schools

• Define and inform the creation of coherent local pathways • Create positive relationships and professional learning

communities among early childhood educators and elementary school leaders

P3 Leadership Team Institute


Blending & Braiding Funding Streams State Resources Federal Resources

• General Education Funding • Literacy Incentive Aid • State Early Learning Scholarships • Q-comp • Professional Development • ECFE • School Readiness • Head Start • Compensatory Funding • Integration Funding • Full-Day Kindergarten Funding • Early Childhood Screening

• Race to the Top / Early Learning Challenge

• Rtt/ELC Early Learning Scholarships • Title I Part A • Head Start • Title II, Part A • Title II, Part A • School Improvement Grants (SIG) • Migrant Education Program • Special Ed. Part C • Special Ed. Part B 619 • Special Ed. Coordinated Early

Intervening Service Funds • Special Ed. Funds for State Personnel

Development Grant

Early Learning Scholarships 2016

Access to Early Learning Scholarships, both Pathway I and II is statewide. Scholarship levels for Pathway I will be: • 4 Star-up to $7,500 • 3 Star-Up to $5,000 • 1-2 Star-Up to $4,000 • Signed participation agreement-up to $3,000

Publically funded programs can receive the actual per child cost of their program up to the $7,500 $ Star cap for Pathway 1


Currently funded Pathway II programs

• Eligible to request additional funds in order to offer the scholarship up to the new cap of $7,500

• Opportunity to adjust current budget with same activities, or amend activities based on new available funds

Important dates: • July 30 – Receive email regarding increase online

application process • August 21 – Letter of Intent to Apply for an Increase • September 4 – Application and Budget Worksheet is due • September 21 – MDE will finalize funded allocation

amounts to currently funded Pathway II programs


New: Eligibility Pathway II All Parent Aware 4 Star rated programs not yet receiving Pathway II funds will be eligible to apply Important dates: • July 29 – Superintendents e-mail-Pathway II scholarship

application process for increase in funding and alert that those not yet funded will have the opportunity

• September 1-Final determination of funding amounts by region

• September 16 – Pathway II expansion online application is opened

• October 14 – Application and Budget Worksheet is due, submitted in online

• November 15 – Final date of announcement of program award for Pathway II scholarship increase


Two Systems Are Administered Separately

Early Learning Scholarships

– Administered by MDE

– Funding for services to children

– Requirement for Pathway II Scholarships is 4-Star Parent Aware rating

Parent Aware – Administered by

DHS (school districts and Head Start supported by MDE)

– Funding for program improvement

– Provides the rating for access to Early Learning Scholarships and other programs


Minnesota spends about $124 million annually on ECSE to meet the needs of infants, toddlers, and preschool children with

disabilities. • LEAs that include children with disabilities in their preschools

may use general education K-12 monies to help pay for those slots.

• Children with disabilities who are below 185% of the FPL, LEAs receive additional compensatory funds.

• LEAs that use School Readiness Formula Funds can leverage the state's commitment to special education to their advantage by: – creating team-teaching models in preschool classrooms for children with

disabilities, knowing that the state will pay 68% of the staffing costs, including the cost of paraprofessionals.

Making Inclusion a Top Priority



literacy • Close the academic achievement gap among all racial

and ethnic groups of students and between students living in poverty and their more privileged peers as well as students receiving special education services and those that are not.

• Have all students graduate from high school • Have all students attain college and career

preparedness



• Assess each child’s cognitive skills • Provide a comprehensive program content and intentional

instruction aligned with the state’s early childhood learning guidelines

• Coordinate appropriate kindergarten transition with parents and kindergarten teachers

• Involve parents in program planning • Coordinate with relevant community-based services • Cooperate with ABE programs • Ensure staff-child ratios of one-to-ten • Teachers knowledgeable in early childhood curriculum,

assessment and instruction • A program provided by a board must be supervised by a

licensed early childhood teacher, certified early childhood educator or licensed parent educator.

School Readiness Program Requirements


• Instructional content and activities that are of sufficient length and intensity (half day=425 hours, full-day = 850 hours, school calendar);

• Measurement of each child's cognitive and social skills using a formative measure when the child enters and again before the child leaves the program, screening and progress monitoring measures and others from the state-approved menu of kindergarten entrance measures;

• Class size of 20 or fewer children and child-staff ratios of ten-to-one or less;

• District transition plan to kindergarten; • Qualified teachers with both a bachelor’s degree and specialized

training in how young children learn • Staff salaries comparable to the salaries of local kindergarten through

grade 12 instructional staff;

High-Quality PreK Program Standards


• Parent engagement strategies that include culturally and linguistically responsive activities in prekindergarten through third grade;

• Development and implementation of curriculum, assessment, and instructional strategies aligned with the state's early learning guidelines and academic standards, prekindergarten through third grade;

• Inclusion of children with disabilities in the prekindergarten program; • Coordinated professional development, training, and coaching for

both school district and community-based early learning providers that is informed by a measure of adult-child interactions; and

• Community collaboration and planning, including community health and social service agencies to ensure children have access to comprehensive services.

High-Quality PreK Program Standards


Kindergarten Entry Profile (KEP) KEP, formerly the School Readiness Study, is a voluntary developmental assessment at kindergarten entrance. KEP includes a menu of standards aligned tools which measure children’s cognitive, social-emotional, language, literacy and physical development. Participating districts choose which tool works best for them.

Benefits for participation: � Supports teaching and learning process for kindergarten teachers � Facilitates measurement of progress on World’s Best Workforce

goals � FREE subscriptions to online assessment system for kindergarten,

including publisher technical assistance and data reporting � FREE training for kindergarten teachers and administrators � Fosters cross-grade & program transition planning

For more information, contact: [email protected] or [email protected]

Handouts: 1. Definition of School Readiness: Expectations

for Children as they Enter Kindergarten 2. Writing Goals and Strategies 3. Measuring Goals and Reporting Progress 4. Ten Ways Superintendents Can Support School

Readiness

WBWF Goal #1: All Children Ready for School



• In 2014-2015, 99.6% of students

attended full-day kindergarten (an increase from 54%).

• Full-day kindergarten is offered in every public school in

Minnesota except for one.

• Kindergarten teachers complete first-of-its kind survey about

teaching - learning in Minnesota.

Kindergarten

Board-approved Kindergarten Early Entrance Policy

• Comprehensive evaluation in cognitive, social, and emotional development.

• Meet kindergarten grade expectations and progress to first grade in the subsequent year

• Use valid and reliable instrumentation, and be aligned with kindergarten expectation.

• Parent report and teacher observations of the child's knowledge, skills, and abilities are included .


Early Childhood Health and Developmental Screening (ECS)


• Continued focus on the importance of health and developmental screening at age 3.

• FY 2015 – 41.6% 3 year olds screened

statewide (2.2% increase from FY 2013).

• 2015 Legislative change - ECS programs must record and report to MDE the date of a child’s most recent comprehensive vision exam, if the child received one.


literacy – Include PreK in your local literacy plan – Align you comprehensive assessment system PreK-3rd



• Universal access to voluntary, high-quality pre-kindergarten programs for all 3- and 4-year-olds whose parents want pre-K

• Universal full-day kindergarten • Quality, developmentally appropriate curriculum, standards and

assessments aligned from pre-K through third grade • Qualified teachers with both a bachelor’s degree and specialized

training in how young children learn • Opportunities for teachers to share data, planning, and

professional development within and across grade levels • Strong leadership committed to providing children with a seamless

educational experience • Opportunities for parent and community engagement Source: “America’s Vanishing Potential: The Case for PreK-3rd Education” (New York: Foundation for Child Development, 2008).

Key Features of PreK-3rd Programs


• Data, data, data – Identify the needs of the community and students; identify gaps in the

alignment of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment (CIA) and support services

– Plan for and monitor effective implementation and for continuous improvement

• Professional development and Coaching – P-3 focus; Focused on child development and developmentally

appropriate practices; school readiness; CIA alignment; includes preschool and K-3 teachers, leaders and support providers

• Rethinking allocation of resources – Time for planning and collaboration, providing rooms and space,

qualifications of staff drive staffing assignments, blended funding • Alignment of Accountability Systems

– Parent Aware, Principal and Teacher Evaluation, District and School Improvement Plans, District WBWF Plan

– Ensure consistent messages of program, teacher, and leader quality and effectiveness

– Ensure that P-3 alignment activities and outcomes are included in teacher and leader performance evaluations

P3 Checklist:


education.state.mn.us

Bobbie Burnham Director, Division of Early Learning Services

[email protected]

651-582-8414

MDE

Questions / Suggestions?

Documents

Comprehensive P-3 Approach for Closing the … P-3 Approach for Closing the Achievement Gap Bobbie Burnham, ... of college success are often determined long before ... The pathway