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COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED DRAFT (with highlighted edits)
3/13/18
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Related Entries: ABA, ABC, ABC-RA, ACA, ACA-RA, AEB, GEG-RA, 1
IFA, IFA-RA, IKA, IKA-RA, IOA, IOA-RA, IOB, 2
IOD, IOD-RA, ISA, ISB-RA, JEA-RA 3
Responsible Office: Chief Academic Officer 4
5
6
Framework and Structure of 7
Early Childhood and Elementary Education 8
9
10
A. PURPOSE 11
12
To affirm the Montgomery County Board of Education’s 13
commitment to producing a challenging and comprehensive 14
educational program for eligible students in early childhood 15
and students in elementary programs that will promotinge the 16
intellectual, social, emotional, and physical growth and 17
development of students children in their early learning 18
years through high quality, developmentally appropriate, 19
challenging, and comprehensive early childhood and elementary 20
programs 21
22
To establish a framework for early childhood and elementary 23
education, in partnership with parents/guardians and 24
collaboration with community stakeholders, including county 25
government, and state and local agencies, that allows each 26
child to establish a solid foundation for learning through 27
high quality early childhood experiences and attain key 28
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educational and developmental milestones in each successive 29
grade as they progress from elementary grades, to prepare 30
them for middle and high school, then . 31
To emphasize, in partnership with parents, families, and 32
community stakeholders, the importance of building a solid 33
foundation for a lifetime of academic and personal 34
achievements. 35
36
To provide early identification and intervention strategies 37
for identified students to promote student success children. 38
39
To set expectations for early childhood and elementary 40
education that includes evidence-based, developmentally 41
appropriate curriculum and instructional practices in a 42
supportive and culturally proficient learning environment, 43
through family and community involvement, staff development, 44
and collaboration with community early childhood education 45
programs and community partners, including community child 46
care centers, family child care homes, and private 47
preschools. 48
49
B. ISSUE 50
51
A strong and growing body of evidence shows that successful 52
programs during the early childhood and elementary school 53
years leads to high levels of school success in later years. 54
The Board is committed to effectively utilizing county, 55
state, and federal resources, along with community partners, 56
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to establish a continuum of essential services needed by young 57
children and their families in order to identify children in 58
need of services and facilitate student development, 59
transition, placement, and program continuity at each stage 60
of a child’s development, from home, child care, or preschool 61
to prekindergarten (pre-K), as appropriate, and from one 62
elementary grade to another. 63
64
The Board collaborates with public and private agencies 65
across Montgomery County to support children in the early 66
years from birth to five years and prepare them for elementary 67
school success In accordance with as set forth in the 68
Montgomery County early childhood initiative, Children’s 69
Agenda,Early Care and Education Strategic Plan. Montgomery 70
County Public Schools (MCPS) collaborates with public and 71
private agencies such as the Collaboration Council for 72
Children, Youth, and Families and its affiliated agencies 73
74
Among these community partners, Montgomery County Public 75
Schools’ (MCPS’) role in the meeting the educational needs of 76
Montgomery County’s diverse young learners is to provide pre-77
K and special education services for younger children early 78
intervention and special education services for children who 79
are not yet of kindergarten age who meet eligibility criteria 80
pursuant to state and federal laws. Head Start and pre-K 81
programs offer high-quality educational experiences to 82
income-eligible children in order to prepare them with the 83
foundational knowledge and skills necessary for school 84
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success in kindergarten and beyond. In addition, Judith P. 85
Hoyer Early Child Care and Family Education Centers, or “Judy 86
Centers,” are state grant- and locally-funded early childhood 87
and family learning centers which provide comprehensive early 88
childhood services for children birth through age five. 89
90
MCPS also provides a variety of screening, early 91
intervention, and special education services to children, 92
from birth to eight years, through home and school-based 93
programs and other area and central programs. Services are 94
provided to children with a wide range of needs, including, 95
but not limited to, speech/language, auditory, vision, 96
orthopedic, and developmental delays. 97
98
The Board affirms the importance of the continuity provided 99
by early childhood education program for students in pre-K 100
and kindergarten through Grade 3, and the important academic 101
milestones for academic readiness that mark the transition 102
from Grade 3 to the upper elementary grades. 103
104
The Young children’s unique developmental stages and 105
characteristics of early childhood and elementary students 106
must guide the implementation of the early childhood and 107
elementary programs for them. Young children’s thinking, 108
learning styles, and view of the world are qualitatively 109
different from older children and adults. 110
111
Although young children share similarities as a group, they 112
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differ remarkably from one another, and appropriate 113
programming will be flexible enough to accommodate each one. 114
Family background, language, culture, gender, personality, 115
learning styles, interests, and abilities contribute to a 116
child’s individuality. Most children pass through the same 117
sequence of developmental stages, but the pace of development 118
varies from child to child. Moreover, development often does 119
not proceed evenly. The cognitive, physical, social, and 120
emotional levels of maturity may vary within the individual 121
child. 122
123
Montgomery County is a diverse community with an equally 124
diverse early childhood and elementary school population that 125
presents a variety of educational needs. To address some of 126
these needs, prekindergarten programs are provided to 127
families who meet eligibility criteria, pursuant to state and 128
federal laws. 129
130
The following elements are necessary for establishing and 131
maintaining a rigorous instructional program that meets the 132
needs of early childhood and elementary students: 133
To ensure success for every student in MCPS, an early 134
childhood and elementary school program must include a 135
comprehensive curriculum and related assessments; a rigorous, 136
differentiated instructional program; opportunities for 137
purposeful play; highly qualifiedcertified and committed 138
staff and leadership that is appropriately certified, 139
licensed or credentialed; a collaborative yet flexible 140
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organizational structure; and, afully engaged parental 141
parents/guardians and stakeholder community stakeholders. 142
143
C. POSITION 144
145
1. Early Childhood Program and School Culture 146
147
Each MCPS elementary school will To develop a culture 148
that promotes children’s physical, intellectual, 149
linguistic, emotional and social development; personal 150
integrity; self-confidence; social responsibility; 151
mutual respect among all students; as well as 152
motivation, and an eagerness to learn and excel, as 153
schools will do the followsing: 154
155
a) Provide an inviting, stimulating, and supportive 156
environment that eEncourages the natural curiosity 157
and creativity of all young learners students to 158
actively explore, discover, and construct knowledge 159
through intellectually challenging experiences, 160
and interactions with an inviting, stimulating, and 161
supportive learning environment that – 162
163
(1) encourages active engagement in learning 164
through self-selection of materials and self-165
direction as appropriate actively engage in 166
learning and pursue intellectual challenges., 167
168
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(2) encourages constructive risk-taking and use 169
mistakes as instructional tools, and 170
171
(3) provides young children with a continuum of 172
time in which to learn. 173
174
b) Maintain a well-managed, safe, and nurturing 175
environment that encourages positive relationships 176
among students children and between adults and 177
students children. 178
179
c) Provide daily activities for purposeful play and 180
gross motor physical development, through age-181
appropriate classroom and play spaces. 182
183
d) Use the outdoors and other opportunities outside 184
the classroom as important environments for 185
learning, on the playground, neighborhood walks, 186
and field trips. 187
188
e) Recognize that parents/guardians are their child’s 189
first teachers, and welcome and acknowledge the 190
unique contributions of parents/guardians and 191
families to the child’s growth and development. 192
193
cf) In alignment with Board Policy ACA, 194
Nondiscrimination, Equity, and Cultural 195
Proficiency, foster mutual understanding, respect, 196
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and cultural competence among students and staff 197
without regard to an individual’s actual or 198
perceived personal characteristics as defined in 199
Policy ACA. 200
201
dg) Provide a system of standards and expectations that 202
promote personal responsibility, integrity, and 203
citizenship. 204
205
h) View discipline as a developmental process, in 206
alignment with Board Policy JGA, Student 207
Discipline, respond to inappropriate student 208
behavior in a timely and age-appropriate way that 209
supports personal growth and learning opportunities 210
for students, and administer school discipline in 211
a way that keeps students within their regular 212
school program to the greatest extent possible. 213
214
i) Promote readiness, smooth transitions and progress 215
of children from one grade level to another by 216
encouraging teachers and other staff members to 217
share pertinent information about each child’s 218
needs, learning styles, and attainment of 219
developmental milestones. 220
221
ej) Facilitate communication in the languages spoken in 222
the community, whenever feasible. 223
224
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fk) Engage parents in meaningful ways that Assist 225
children to make the transition from home, family 226
child care or child care centers, and preschool 227
into the MCPS elementary program; support the each 228
child’s development and academic achievement; and 229
facilitate the critical partnership of families and 230
schools in emphasize the necessity of long-range 231
educational planning for and attaining the long-232
range educational goals for each student. 233
234
gl) Work to ensure that school programs and activities 235
reflect the diversity of the school population and 236
provide equitable access to all academic programs 237
and school activities. 238
239
2. Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment 240
241
MCPS’s approach to curriculum, instruction, and 242
assessment will meet the unique needs of each young 243
learner while setting high expectations ensure a high 244
level of challenge for all students. and meet the unique 245
needs of the young learner. Teachers welcome and plan 246
for students’ wide range of abilities, developmental 247
levels, interests, backgrounds, learning styles and 248
experiences, and provide manageable challenges to 249
promote early successes that promote early successes 250
that foster self-esteem. 251
252
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a) Student achievement depends on the implementation 253
and provision of a consistent curriculum that 254
addresses the needs of the whole child. The early 255
childhood/and elementary school approach to 256
curriculum will be consistent with Board Policy 257
IFA, Curriculum, and MCPS Regulation IFA-RA, 258
Curriculum, and will include the following: 259
260
(1) The written curriculum, as presented in the 261
curriculum framework and in the curriculum 262
guides. 263
264
(2) The taught curriculum, including 265
reading/language arts, math, social studies, 266
science, art, music, and physical education, 267
as implemented by teachers with students. 268
269
(3) The learned curriculum, as demonstrated by 270
assessments of student performance. 271
272
(4) The ongoing professional development needed to 273
ensure consistent implementation, monitoring, 274
and supervision. 275
276
(5) The monitoring of curriculum implementation by 277
teachers, administrators, and central 278
services staff. 279
280
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b) Instructional practices will incorporate a variety 281
of methods, strategies, and resources, such as 282
technology, that encourage students to be active 283
and engaged learners. Such practices will align 284
with relevant Board policies and MCPS regulations, 285
including, but not limited to, Board policies IKA, 286
Grading and Reporting; IOA, Gifted and Talented 287
Education; IOD, Education of English Language 288
Learners; and IOB, Education of Students with 289
Disabilities; and MCPS Regulation IHB-RA, School 290
Academic Grouping Practices. 291
292
(1) Technology will be integrated into the 293
curriculum as well as instruction and 294
assessment to build or strengthen students’ 295
interest and skills in the use of technology. 296
297
(21) Programmatic and instructional decisions will 298
be based on the analysis of student 299
performance data in relation to established 300
standards. 301
302
(32) Differentiated instructional practices will 303
include acceleration, supports for improving 304
student performance, enrichment, and other 305
strategies as needed to help students to meet 306
their academic potential. Such practices will 307
address learning styles as well as physical, 308
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social, and emotional differences among 309
students. 310
311
(43) In both the planning and implementation of 312
instruction, early childhood and elementary 313
schools programs will utilize the unique 314
skills of staff members in all general 315
education, special education, education of 316
English for Speakers of Other Llanguages 317
learners (ESOL), special education, and other 318
staff membersdisciplines and supports 319
integral to the comprehensive educational 320
program. 321
322
(54) Instructional practices should – 323
324
(a) adapt materials and equipment, when 325
necessary to meet the developmental needs 326
of a student child, 327
328
(b) emphasize the use of hands-on activities, 329
children’s life experiences, concrete 330
materials, and manipulatives, 331
332
(c) give children choices and the opportunity 333
to initiate activities, 334
335
(d) recognize play (both planned and 336
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spontaneous) as a valuable means for 337
children to learn and develop, 338
339
(e) assure that opportunities are provided 340
that help children develop initiative, 341
responsibility, confidence, and 342
independence, 343
344
(f) provide leadership opportunities for 345
students children, and and promote 346
interaction and oral language 347
development between and among students. 348
349
(g) create a language-rich environment that 350
builds literacy and infuses all learning 351
tasks and activities with opportunities 352
for students children to understand and 353
use language with adults and peers. 354
355
c) Assessment 356
357
As explained in Board Policy IKA, Grading and 358
Reporting, sets forth assessment practices are as 359
an important essential aspect of the instructional 360
cycle. 361
362
(1) Teachers use pre-assessments, formative 363
assessments, and summative assessments to 364
communicate achievement to parents/guardians 365
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and students; plan and deliver instruction to 366
meet learning goals; provide prompt 367
appropriate interventions; provide timely 368
feedback to students on their performance; and 369
offer additional opportunities for students to 370
learn and demonstrate learning. 371
372
(2) A comprehensive assessment program, which is 373
aligned with county, state, and national 374
standards, includes the following: 375
376
(a) Representation of a student’s 377
performance on a variety of measures over 378
time. 379
380
(b) An opportunity for students to 381
demonstrate proficiency through a 382
variety of methods. 383
384
(c) Meaningful feedback on student 385
achievement to students and 386
parents/guardians. 387
388
(d) Clear and timely communication to 389
parents/guardians and students as to the 390
grading criteria. 391
392
(e) Consistency within and among schools. 393
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394
(3) Reteaching and reassessment enhances student 395
learning and provides focused instruction to 396
meet individual student needs. 397
398
3. Organizational Structure 399
400
a) The organizational structure of a high-achieving 401
early childhood andor elementary school program – 402
403
(1) effectively utilizes county, state, and 404
federal resources to establish a continuum of 405
essential services to provide the continuity 406
needed by young children and their families, 407
in close communication and collaboration with 408
community child care providers, partner 409
agencies, and other community service 410
providers, 411
412
(2) will optimizes time for learning, and 413
414
415
(3) identifies children in need of services and 416
Organizational structures should facilitates 417
student transition, placement, and program 418
continuity at each level. each stage of a 419
child’s development, from home, child care, or 420
preschool to pre-K, as appropriate, and from 421
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one elementary grade to another. opportunities 422
to build positive relationships among 423
students, staff, parents and community 424
members. 425
426
b) Effective, flexible, and collaborative 427
organizational structures shall include – the 428
following: 429
430
(1) a) public understanding of the importance 431
and availability of quality early childhood 432
programs and services and effective outreach 433
to families of students eligible for early 434
intervention services and programming, 435
436
(1)(2) Oopportunities for MCPS teachers to 437
collaborate across grade-level teams and 438
subject areas, and communicate among special 439
education and general education program 440
staff., 441
442
(2)(3) b)oOpportunities for staff to meet with 443
parents/guardians to discuss student 444
progress., 445
446
i.(4) c)eEffective identification, intervention and 447
enrichment programs., 448
449
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ii.(5) d)aAdequate time for instruction in all 450
curricular areas., 451
452
iii.(6) e)Aa comprehensive education program that 453
prepares students to attain key educational 454
and developmental milestones in each 455
successive grade as they progress from the 456
elementary grades progress through elementary 457
schoolthrough middle and high school. 458
459
c) Class sizes and student-adult ratios are assigned 460
to the elementary classes with full recognition of 461
the importance of young children’s need to have 462
easy and frequent access to an adult for – 463
464
(1) supporting cognitive or emotional 465
development, 466
467
(2) promoting adult-to-child and child-to-child 468
interaction, 469
470
(3) individual and small group learning 471
experiences, and 472
473
(4) differentiated support for highest needs 474
schools. 475
476
4. Leadership and PlanningProfessional Development 477
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478
The MCPS professional growth systems include regular and 479
systematic opportunities for all aAdministrators, 480
teachers, and support services staff to increase their 481
knowledge, skills, and capacity to continuously improve 482
the teaching and learning process. At the program and 483
school level, there must be processes in place for – the 484
following: 485
486
a) Mmonitoring and communicating the program, school 487
or classroom’s vision, mission, goals, and action 488
plans., 489
490
b) Wworking with stakeholders to help create a vision 491
and implement strategies that will support a high-492
performing organization focused on continuous 493
improvement., 494
495
c) Iidentifying potential leaders to participate in 496
professional growth opportunities designed to 497
enhance the teaching and learning process.,and 498
499
d) Bbuilding internal capacities that strengthen the 500
program and school staff’s ability to meet its 501
vision, goals, and action plans and to establish 502
high expectations for all learners. 503
504
505
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5. Parent/guardian and Community Engagement and 506
Communication 507
508
Consistent with Board Policy ABA, Community Involvement; 509
Policy ABC, Parent and Family Involvement; and MCPS 510
Regulation ABC-RA, Parent and Family Involvement, 511
parents/guardians and community members are critical 512
partners in the social and intellectual development of 513
students children. The interrelatedness of the roles of 514
family and school requires a partnership involving 515
communication and shared decision-making. This 516
partnership promotes the following:– 517
518
a) communication and outreach that assist families and 519
children in the transition of children from home, 520
child care, family day care, or preschool, as 521
appropriate, into and through the MCPS elementary 522
program, 523
524
b) Oopportunities for families to increase their 525
children’s ability to succeed in school and in 526
life., 527
528
b) Ffrequent two-way communication between families 529
and schools to provide information and solicit 530
feedback regarding an individual child’s progress, 531
as well as local school and systemwide policies, 532
regulations, programs and practices., 533
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534
c) Ccollaboration with stakeholders within the 535
community such as local businesses, community 536
organizations, institutions of higher education, 537
and other agencies such as libraries to support 538
early academic achievement., and 539
540
d) Vvaried opportunities for families and community 541
members to be involved in student early childhood 542
and school programs, projects, activities, and 543
events with children. 544
545
6. Human Resources and Professional Development 546
547
MCPS recruits, employs, and retains It is critical that 548
early childhood and elementary school staff members who 549
possess the knowledge, skills, and content expertise 550
required to meet the needs of all studentsyoung 551
children. Practices to recruit, attract, and retain 552
highly qualified teachers must be implemented to address 553
academic performance and the individual needs of 554
schools. Such needs may include, but are not limited to, 555
Free and Reduced-Price Meals System participation, 556
mobility, students with disabilities, and English 557
language learners. 558
559
a) Staff members are – 560
561
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(1) knowledgeable about the developmental 562
characteristics of young children, 563
564
(2) committed to the concept that all children can 565
learn and succeed, and 566
567
(3) skilled at developing positive relationships 568
with students and parents/guardians and 569
engaging them in the learning process. 570
571
b) Staff members communicate high expectations for all 572
students. 573
574
c) In alignment with Board Policy ACA, 575
Nondiscrimination, Equity, and Cultural 576
Proficiency, MCPS will take positive steps to 577
eliminate structural and institutional barriers to 578
recruiting, hiring, retaining, and promoting a 579
diverse workforce. 580
581
d) Staff selection considers the individual needs of 582
each program and school. 583
At each early childhood and elementary school, staff 584
will do the following: 585
a) Be highly qualified in core academic subjects and 586
able to balance content with instructional methods. 587
b) Communicate high expectations for all students. 588
c) Create opportunities for professional learning 589
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communities to improve teaching and learning. 590
d) Be knowledgeable about the developmental 591
characteristics of early childhood and elementary 592
students, with an emphasis on literacy, and 593
committed to the concept that all students can 594
learn and succeed. 595
e) Develop relationships with students that will 596
engage them in the learning process. 597
f) Reflect, to the extent possible, the diversity of 598
the MCPS student population. 599
600
e) e) Ongoing Providing professional development for 601
program and school staff and administrators – 602
603
(1) to deepens their knowledge of early childhood 604
development, curricular content, skills, 605
theappropriate uses of technology, 606
differentiation and the delivery and 607
differentiation of instruction., and 608
609
(2) f) Providing professional development for 610
school staff on provides effective strategies 611
for communicating with and engaging all 612
parents/guardians to promote increased 613
student achievement of children. 614
615
D. DESIRED OUTCOMES 616
617
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A hHigh-quality, comprehensive early childhood and elementary 618
programs and a comprehensive elementary school program that 619
allow each student child to establish a solid foundation 620
through challenging early childhood and elementary 621
experiences and to attain key educational and developmental 622
milestones in each successive grade as they progress from 623
elementary grades, through middle and high school, then onto 624
a lifetime of academic and personal achievements 625
thoroughly prepares all students to succeed in middle and 626
high school. 627
628
E. REVIEW 629
630
This policy will be reviewed in accordance with the Board of 631
Education policy review process. 632
633
634
Policy History: Adopted by Resolution No. 345-88, June 27, 1988; 635
amended by Resolution No. 284-07, May 21, 2007; technical 636
amendments by Resolution No. 319-17, June 26, 2017; amended . 637
638
Note. Prior to Resolution No. 345-88, this topic was governed by 639
the following: K-8 Policy, adopted by Resolution No. 161-80, 640
February 12, 1980; amended by Resolution No. 912b-83, November 8, 641
1983; reformatted in accordance with Resolution No. 333-86, June 642
12, 1986, and Resolution No. 458-86, August 12, 1986; rescinded by 643
Resolution No. 345-88, June 27, 1988. Tenets of Board policy IEF, 644
Early Childhood Education, were incorporated by Resolution No. 645
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______ amendments to this policy, and was rescinded upon adoption 646
of amended Board Policy IEA on _________________. 647