The Preschool through Grade Three Continuum Shirley Esau, Principal, Kingsburg Elementary Charter...

The Preschool through Grade Three ContinuumShirley Esau, Principal, Kingsburg Elementary

Charter SchoolWilma Hashimoto, Director of ECE, FCOE

Whit Hayslip, Assistant Superintendent – Retired, LAUSD

BackgroundPercent of Fresno County 3rd GradersBELOW Proficient in English Language Arts: CST 2012)

• 57% of All 3rd Graders• 66% of “Economically

Disadvantaged”• 84% of “English Learners”

Bridging the Gap

Between

ECE K-12

It was an age of wisdom

Charles Dickens

it was an age of foolishness.

Birth – 3rd FrameworkOverarching Goal: Increase the percentage of students who are on grade level by 3rd grade utilizing a birth-3rd learning continuum of quality systems, quality educators, and increased family and community involvement.

• Desired Outcome 1: Develop and implement an aligned and developmentally appropriate system of learning standards, student outcomes, curriculum, assessment, and support for children from birth-3rd grade.

• Desired Outcome 2: Utilize disaggregated child health, development, and related educational data to inform effective birth-3rd practices and interventions.

Birth – 3rd Framework (cont.)• Desired Outcome 3: Identify and utilize existing public

agency funding streams (school and non-school based) to meet the needs of children birth-3rd grade.

• Desired Outcome 4: Increase levels of collaboration aimed at improving outcomes for children among/across school districts, public agencies, and community organizations.

• Desired Outcome 5: Identify and document policies and practices that hinder students performing on grade level by 3rd grade; develop, advocate for, and implement solutions.

Pieces of Wisdom

1. Early Childhood Education starts at birth.

Wisdom Re: The Early Years

We have an amazing body of research about development in

the first three years, and especially in the first 18 months.

Brain Research

Social Emotional

LanguageCognition

Babies are Linguistic Geniuses!

Dr. Patricia KuhlInstitute for Learning and Brain Sciences University of Washington

LANGUAGE IS THE FOUNDATION OF

LITERACY

Hart and Risley (1995) conducted

a longitudinal study of children and families from

three groups:

• Professional families

• Working-class families

• Families on welfare

Cumulative Language Experiences

Cumulative Words Spoken to Child (in millions)

0

10

20

30

40

50

0 12 24 36 48

Age of child (in months)

Professional

Working

Welfare

How do we help children and families

address this inequity?

Pieces of Wisdom

2. Early Childhood Education doesn’t stop at preschool.

Right now, all over the United States, we are leaving too many children behind in reading— NAEP Results (National Assessment of Educational Progress)

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

White

Percent of Students Performing Below Basic Level - 37%

Black

Hispanic

Poor

Non-poor

56

59

25

54

23

And, a large share of those children come from poor and minority homes

26

59

56

25

54

How Do We Address this Gap?

• Preschool Programs alone are not a “silver bullet” to solve the achievement gap.

• Evaluations including the National Head Start

Impact Study have raised questions about sustaining the gains made in high-quality PreK programs.

What Are the Pieces of Wisdom Telling Us?

EveryYear

Matters

In human development, the successful completion of each stage enables us to move on to the next.

What Are the Pieces of Wisdom Telling Us?

What Are the Pieces of Wisdom Telling Us?

We need to improve the learning opportunities at each stage, starting

with babies.

We worry about what a child will be tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today.

--Stacia Tauscher

What Are the Pieces of Wisdom Telling Us?

We need to create better connections between each stage to support continuity of learning and development for each child. 0-3

3-5

5-8

What Are the Pieces of Wisdom Telling Us?

There is increasing recognition that Third

Grade is a crucial turning point in educational

trajectories.

This recognition of 3rd Grade as a turning point is leading to a national emphasis on:Birth – 8

Prenatal - 3rd Grade

P - 3

How can we support the 0-8 Progress?

Why P-3 From A State & District Perspective ?

The need to reach children prior to kindergarten

The need to build a strong foundation and a strong system of support, birth to third grade and beyond.

Critical period of development with Implications for teaching and learning

Early Intervention and prevention

How 3rd Grade Reading Skills & Poverty Influence High School Graduation

• “One in six children who are not reading proficiently in 3rd grade do not graduate from high school on time, a rate 4 times greater than that for proficient readers.”

• “The rates are highest for the low, below-basic readers: 23% of these children drop out or fail to finish high school on time, compared to 9 percent of children with basic reading skills and 4% of proficient readers.”

• “Overall, 22% of children who have lived in poverty do not graduate from high school, compared to 6 percent of those who have never been poor.

Hernandez, D. J. (2011). Double Jeopardy: How Third-Grade Reading Skills and Poverty Influence High School Graduation. New York: The Annie E. Casey Foundation and The Center for Demographic Analysis, University of Albany, State University of New York.

Requires a Systems Approach

P-3 Standards(CC Standards & EC Guidelines)

AssessmentsInstruction & Curriculum

Community & School Response based on the students and

families they serve

ClassroomResponding to the needs of

students.

Professional Development

Established a P-3 Leadership Team • Common Goals • Common Curriculum • Shared Language • Shared Resources • Assessment Loop • Aligned Instruction and

• Professional Development

Goals and Vision

Policies and Procedures

Funding and Resources

District and School Systems

Assessment and Data

Professional Development and

Instructional Practices

Core Curriculum and Supplemental

Materials

P-3 Leadership Team

Beyond Just ConnectingWhy Do This Work?

• Strong Foundation Birth to Third Grade

• Early Intervention

• Changing Lives

Alignment &Problem SolvingHow is P-3 Part of Your System?

• Standards

• Assessment

• Instruction

School District /School & Community Planning

Data/Assessment

Need & Growth?

How? What worked? What

did not?

District/School Community and

other factors

Resources What are the tools,

materials, and PD you need to do this work?

P-3 Plan

P-3 Instructional Model P-3 Core Instruction

Additional Practice Opportunities & supports

Interventions & Special Education

Aligning and Maximizing Resources PreK-12 (General Education, Special Programs & Special Education )

School wide and District wide

Head StartEarly Head StartState PreschoolFaith BasedNon Profit Special Ed B-3Special Ed

Title ITitle II Instructional CoachSpecial Education Girls and Boys Club

TransitionsProfessional DevelopmentFamily Advocates& Interventionist Mental Health Services

Summer Services LibraryChild CareParks and rec

* Summer School

* Jump Start

35

* Commitment and alignment of resources

Challenges & Considerations for Decision Making & Change

• Multiple measures• Prevention versus intervention • Community, school wide and district systems • Value added• Supplanting• Student achievement & family support • Significant growth versus investment• Impact (number of students, number of teachers and leaders)• Use of Para pros versus teachers • Increase quality of special education and decrease adult

dependency

Shared Resources

Professional

Development

Head Start

Title I

Special Education

Community & State

How?

Principal & Leadership P-3 Institute Making a Difference Inc. (360) 394-4422 tdudzic@msn.com Linda Sullivan-Dudzic, Donna K. Gearns, Kelli Leavell

P-3 Instructional LeadersP-3 Development & Standards What children need to know and be able to do How Young Children Learn ANDHow to Match Instruction

P-3 InstructionWhat does quality instruction look like based on how young children learn ?

P-3 Assessment How do you know if children are on track? Prevention & Early Intervention

38

Strength

Based Invent

ory

Planning

Guide

What Quality Looks Like

Assessment Loop

Strength

Based Inventory

Planning Guide

What

Quality Looks

Like

Assessment Loop

What are you doing now?

Make agreements as a group regarding

instructional tools and activities.

Record agreements on the

Planning Guide

Make agreements about what quality

teaching and learning will look

like in your PreK-3 system. Record

agreements on the What Quality

Looks Like

What do you need to

add/revise?

Determine what quality teaching

and learning looks like .

Identify assessments

needed based on the type of

data and information

you will share in our

Assessment Loop

Systematic Strength-Based PreK-3 Alignment Process

Birth-PreK Data

Kindergarten Data

Kindergarten Data

1st Grade Data

1st Grade Data

2nd Grade Data

2nd Grade Data

3rd Grade & Beyond

PreK-3 Data UsesIdentify Strengths and Support Areas

Establish Goals Identify Professional Development Needs

Inform Instruction

Plan and adjust instr

uction fo

r

incoming st

udents

Adjust

instru

ction

and

pra

ctice

s to

stren

gthe

n ali

gnm

ent f

or fu

ture

stud

ents

PreK-3 System Data AnalysisDistrict

School

Grade

Class

Group

Student

System Level

Individual Level

Instructional Process• Determine need based on data• Develop goal(s)• Determine how goal will be measured (which

assessment / data collection method will be used?)

• Monitor and chart progress• Evaluate progress across multiple levels of your system

• Make adjustments as needed43

They see their children as they are today……

and tomorrow…

and tomorrow…

Parents Are the Best Advocates for a Cohesive Educational System

We are moving ahead together

0-8 Initiatives are being supported by:

U.S. Department of EducationCA Department of EducationAnnie E. Casey FoundationFoundation for Child DevelopmentNew School FoundationKellogg FoundationNational Association of Elementary School PrincipalsHarvard University…and many more

The Process

District Teams Attend 1 of 3 General Information Meetings

Interested Districts Respond to Request for Applications to participate in Professional Learning Communities (PLC)

4-8 Districts selected to participate. Districts will receive a stipend for release time in PLC’s.

Challenge Districts create implementation plans, which can be submitted for funding

Implementation• Dialogues with experts• Access to research resources• Opportunities to

share/reflect/ plan with peers

Challenge Districts

Developing Implementation

Plans

Intensive Guided T.A.

ProfessionalLearning

Circles

• Evidence-based practices• Alignment with 0-5• Restructuring existing

funding mechanisms

• Individualized support• Targeted connection with

initiative partner agencies

What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must be what the community wants for all its children.

John Dewey

Fresno County is Moving Ahead

A Fresno County B-3 Initiative is being supported by:

First 5 Fresno CountyFresno County Office of EducationFresno Regional FoundationDavid and Lucile Packard Foundation

Contact: Shirley Esau – sesau@kingsburg-

elem.k12.ca.usWilma Hashimoto – whashimoto@fcoe.org

Whit Hayslip – whitcomb.hayslip@gmail.com

Fresno County Birth – 3rd grade Initiative