DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 089 499 EC 061 443

TITLE Dale Avenue School Early Childhood Education CenterProject. Research Bulletin, Volume II, No. 1, January1972.

INSTITUTION Paterson Board of Education, N.J.SPONS AGENCY Bureau of Elementary and Secondary Education

(DHEW/OE), Washington, D.C.PUB DATE Jan 72NOTE 25p.; For related information see EC 061439 through

EC 061442, and EC 061444 through EC 061449

EDRS PRICE MF-$0.75 HC-$1.85 PLUS POSTAGEDESCRIPTORS *Culturally Disadvantaged; Disadvantaged Youth;

*Early Childhood Education; *Exceptional ChildEducation; *Program Proposals; *Reading

IDENTIFIERS Elementary Secondary Education Act Title III; PSEATitle /II; Paterson (New Jersey)

ABSTRACTDescribed is the proposed 1971-72 program for first

through third grade culturally disadvantaged children as part of aTitle III urban early childhood education program in Paterson, NewJersey. Listed are members of the Board of Education, the advisorycommittee, the parent committee, and the project staff. It isexplained that the 1971-72 year is to focus on developing curriculumand performance objectives for the first through third grade levels.The group of 114 first grade children who had previously been in thekindergarten program component is described. Reported are 100%testing of all pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, and first gradechildren on one or more test instruments, and the plan to test futurefirst grades with measures such as the Stanford Achievement TestPrimary Battery. Explained is the existing program of ungradedhomogeneous reading groups for grades 1 through 3. (DB)

DALE AVENUE SCHOOL

PATERSON, NEW JERSEY

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A TITLE III E.S.E.A. PROJECTPATERSON BOARD OF EDUCATION

RESEARCH BULLETIN VOLUME II NO. 1

January, 1972

US DEPARTMENTOF MAIMEDUCATION 4 WELFARENATIONAL INSTITUTE OF

EDUCATIONTHIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRODUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROMTHE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGINATiNG IT POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONSSTATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFF ICI-AL NATIONAL INSTITUTE OFEDUCATION POSITION OR POLICY

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Good Nutrition as Well, as Skills Will FosterGrowth and Development

2.

THE PATERSON BOARD OF EDUCATION

Leonard R. Jacoby President

Rev. Louis M. Richardson Vice President

Gilbert Collazo

Ronald J. Frederick

Donald Greenspan

Mrs, Ruth Hirshberg

Rev. Robert Kirchgessner

Mrs. Marian M. Rauschenbach

Robert Penotti

Dr. Michael Gioia Sunerintendent

Joseph W. Goldberg AssistantSuperintendent

Dr. Norman S. Weir AssistantSuperintendent

Charles J. Riley Secretary/BusinessAdministrator

Robert P. Swartz Assistant SecretaryCounsel

Mrs. Vera P. Thompson Director of FundedPrograms

3.

TITLE III COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Dr. Michael nioia Sunerintendent ofSchools

Mr. Leonard Jacoby President, Boardof Education

Rev. Louis Richardson..Vice President,Board of Education

Dr. Norman S. Weir Assistant Superin-tendent of Schools

Mr. Joseph Goldberg,...Assistant Superin-tendent of Schools

Mr. Charles J. Riley...Secretary-BusinessAdministrator, Boardof Education

Rev. John Carroll Assistant Superin-tendent of PatersonDiocesan Schools

Mr. John Bell Director, ModelCities

Mrs. Hilda Conn Assistant Director,Model Cities

Mr. Willie Sweet Advisory Committee,Model Cities

Mr. James Adams Consultant, ModelCities

Mr. John Rodricluez Acting ExecutiveDirector, PatersonTask Force

Rev. William Mason President, PatersonTask Force

Mrs. Cecile Dickey

Mr. Gilbert Benson

Director, HeadStart

Project Adminis-trator, Councilof Agency forFamily Planning

4.

Mr. Harold Simon President, PatersonAdministrator'sAssociation

Mrs. Mildred Semas President, PatersonPrincipal'sAssociation

Mrs. Grace Griffin

Mrs. Roberta Cohen

Paterson EducationAssociation

President, Kinder-garten Association

Mrs. Mildred Tramble President, NationalCouncil of NegroWomen

Mrs. Josephine Chambers.President, PatersonCouncil of P.T.A.'s

Mr. Anthony Carbone

Mrs. Faith Adams

Trustee, PatersonCouncil of P.T.A.'s

President, FollowThrough AdvisoryCommittee

Dean Harry T. Gumaer....Dean of ProfessionalPrograms, WilliamPaterson College

Dr. Edward Ward Chairman, Departmentof Education, WilliarPaterson College

5.

Prof. Alice Meeker William PatersonCollege

Mr. Peter J. Wild Principal,DAECEC*

Miss Harriet Gibbs Director, Pre-Kindergarten,DAECEC*

Mrs. Helen Hanson Project Director,Title III, DAECEC*

Mrs. Rita Gavzy Research Director,Title III, DAECEC*

Mrs. Marie O'Mara Psychologist,DAECEC*

Mrs. Vera P. Thompson...Director of FundedPrograms

Mr. Joseph Heitzman Assistant Directorof Funded Programs

Mr. Reginald T. Brown...Social Worker-Co-ordinator, DAECEC*

*Dale Avenue Early Childhood Education Center

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Mr. &

DALE AVENUE TITLE III

Mrs.

PARENT COMMITTEE

Bobby Bailey

Mr. & Mrs. Marty Barnes

Mr. & Mrs. John Carbarcas

Dr. & Mrs. Oren Chase

Mr. & Mrs. Charles Council

Mr. & Mrs. Peter Courtney

Mr. & Mrs. Clyde Crooms

Mr. & Mrs. Eugene Dawson

Mr. & Mrs. Robert Del Vecchio

Mr. & Mrs. Jorge Escurra

Mr. Harold Foster

Mr. & Mrs. Carlton Gillis

Mr. & Mrs. Freddie Holmes

Mr. & Mrs. James Jeter

Mr. & Mrs. Dennis Leskanic

Mr. & Mrs. Robinson Mendoza

Mr. & Mrs. Ellis Shearn

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Taliaferro

Mr. .& Mrs. Luis Torres

Mr. & Mrs. James Wright

Mrs, Henrietta Young

Mr. & Mrs. Frank Vetrands

7.

TIME III STAFF

Mrs. Helen B. Hanson Director-Title III

Mrs. Rita Gavzy Research Director

Mr. Charles Pachella Psychometrician

Mrs. Rhoda Schenberg Tester/SupplementaryInstructor

Miss Marion Lippa Tester/SupplementaryInstructor

Mrs. Gilda Walsh Audiologist

Mrs. Anna Taliaferro Parent Coordinator

Miss Charlene VimoritowSecretary

CONSULTANT STAFF

Mr. Peter J. Wild Principal,DaleAvenue School

Mr. Joseph Holtzman Assistant Directorof Funded Programs

Miss Harriet Gibbs Director of Pre-Kindergarten,DaleAvenue School

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By Helping a Classmate A Student Reinforces HerOwn Skills.

9.

What You Should Know About the SecondYear of TrEle III at Dale Avenue School

The Dale Avenue Urban Early Child-hood Education Project, housed in theDale Avenue School in Paterson, NewJersey, has entered its second phase.

In 1971 the Project staff developedcurriculum and performance objectivesfor Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergartenat Dale Avenue School and tested thispopulation as well as several controlgroups. The plan had been to continuealong these lines and to develop andtest first grade in 1971-72 and secondand third grade in 1972 -73. After muchconsideration it was decided insteadthat 1971-72 will be devoted primarilyto developing curriculum and performanceobjectives for first, second and thirdgrades. The following year, 1972-73,will be devoted to interpreting the data.Some testing will be undertaken thisyear. However, in-depth testing, re-fining and changing performance object-ives where needed will be 'undertakennext year. Each Dale Avenue child re-gardless of grade will he working athis own level in each area.

Evaluation 1971-72

A pre-test and post-test experi-mental control design using standardizedand locally developed instruments willbe used to evaluate the academic per-formance of the project students.

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At the Kindergarten level the Pea-body Picture Vocabulary Test, the AnneE. Boehm Test of Basic Concepts, theStanford Early Achievement Test and thestaff-made Identity and Body Parts Test,Skill Assessment Test and PerformanceObjectives Record will be administered.

The Kindergarten experimental groupwho had been tested in Pre-Kindergartenand the disadvantaged and advantagedcontrol groups with no preschool experi-once who were tested tn 1970-71 will betested this year. A new control groupof thirty advantaged Kindergarten child-ren in a neighboring town will also betestel as well as an additional group ofdisadvantaged Kindergarten children toadd to our control group.

At the first grade level the Pea-body Picture Vocabulary Test, StanfordAchievement Test Primary Battery andthe locally developed Performance Ob-jectives Record will be administered.The Wechsler Intelligence Test forChildren will be administered to thirtyrandomly selected first level pupilsto ascertain the correlation betweenit and the Peabody Picture VocabularyTest.

The first grade level experimentalgroup and the disadvantaged and advan-taged control groups who were tested inKindergarten in 1970-71 will be testedthis year. The first graders using per-formance objectives at School #24 whowere tested as Kindergarten pupils in1970 will also he tested. Additionaladvantaged and disadvantaged first gradechildren will be tested and added tocontrol groups.

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Socializing and Language Development at Lunch

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Positive significant differencesof project students based on the pre-test and nost-test data will be used toevaluate individual student progress.

Descrption of the First Grade Children

One hundred and fo'trteen firstgrade children at Dale Avenue Schoolform one part of the experimental groupin the. Title III study. The childrenare in five classes Whose size rangesfrom twenty to twenty-five. TWo teachersShare an aide for approximately fifteenhours per week. Thb group is slightlysmaller than it was last year in Kinder-garten as some children moved toanOthercountry, state or town, to a parochial:school or to another school in the dia.,trict. A

Fifty percent of the group are boysand fifty peicent are girls. Sixty per-cent areBlapk, twenty percent are Spanish,nineteen percent are White and one per-cent is Chinese.

The average income Per family is$6590 per year and there are approximatelythree children per family.

The father's occupations are varied..They include truck drivers, fadtory:.workers, maChinp operators, bus drivers,salemen, PluMbers,-Minister$,,W0400,cabinet Maker$, cutters, laborers, cen,,structiOn workers, employmont inter-viewers, pressers, personnel supervisors,testors, asphalt layer, aluminum etcher,sheet metal workers, I.B.M. operators,frame makers, Public Service men.

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The mother's occupations includesecretaries, crossing guards, teachers,super market checkers, health aides,cashiers, sales girls, factory workers,parking attendants and domestics.

In this group of one hundred andfourteen children are seven who were notin the study last year as they repeatedseveral months of Pre-Kindergarten andwore advanced to Kindergarten in themiddle of the school year. At the endof the 1970-71 school year it was de-cided that they were ready to move tothe first level.

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TESTING

One hundred percent of the Pre-Kindergarten children at Dale AvenueSchool have been pre-tested on the Pea-body Picture Vocabulary Test, form A,the Pre-Kindergarten Skill AssessmentTest and the Pre-Kindergarten.Identityand Body Parts Test.

One hundred percent of the advan-taged Kindergarten Control Group hasbeen pre-tested on the Peabody PictureVocabulary Test, form A, the KindergartenSkill Assessment Test, and the Kinder-garten Identity and Body ?arts Test.

One hundred percent of the Kinder-garten Experimental Group at Dale Avenuehave been tested on the Peabody Test,form A, the Kindergarten Skill AssessmentTest, the Kindergarten Identity and Body.Parts Test and the Stanford Early SchoolAchievement Test.

One hundred percent of the Kinder-garten children using Performance Ob-jectives at School #24 have been pre-tested on the peabody Test, form A, theKindergarten Skill Assessment Test, theKindergarten Identity and Body PartsTest and the Stanford Early SchoolAchievement Test.

one hundred percent of the FirstLevel children in Dal0 AVonue school havebeen pro-tested:on the Peabody Test, formA.

One hundred percent of the FirstGrade children using Performance Object-ives in School #24 have been pretestedon the Peabody Test, form A.

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TESTING 1971-72

One hinldred and sixteen Kindergartenchildren at Dale Avenue School, twenty-nine Kindergarten children at School #24in Paterson, New Jersey, thirty advan-taged Kindergarten children in Kinnelon,and eighteen disadvantaged Kindergartenchildren have been tested.

The mean I.Q. score on the PeabodyPicture. Vocabulary Test for the DaleAvenue Kindergarten children at pre-testtime was 88.46. (When these childrenentered Pre-Kindergarten in September1970 they scored 80 on the Peabody. Atpost-test time they scored a mean of89.4.) The mean score for the Kinder-garten children at School #24 who areusing Performance Objectives but whohave never been to Pre-Kindergarten was78.65 on the Peabody. The mean I.O.score for the Kinnelon children who canbe considered very advantaged was 105.41on the Peabody nre-test.

One hundred And fourteen first levelchildren at Dale Avenue School and twenty-five first grade children at School #24have been tested. TwelVe advantaged andtwenty- nine disadvantaged Paterson child-ren have been tested so far.

The mean I.Q. score at pre-testtime on the Peabody, form A for thePirst Level children at Dale AvenueSchool was 100,50. For the group ofchildren tested at School #24 who usedPerformance Objectives the mean I.O.score was 87.36. The advantaged groupmean I.Q. score was 105.25 and the dis-advantaged group mean I.Q. score was72.93.

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What Title III Staff Hores to Accomplish

in 1971-72

It is the purpose of the Title IIIDale Avenue Urban Early Childhood Edu-cation Project to: (1) define the needsin first, second and third grades; (2)

to Monitor all grade levels in DaleAvenue (Pre-Kindergarten through third)and control groups in School #24 (Kinder-garten and Pirst)i (3) define curriculumneeds based on assessment of studentsphysiCal, sociological and educationalneeds; (4) to produce a more effectivecurriculum which will provide varyingrates of progress for a variety of stu-dents (5) to train and develop staffin the use of materials, curriculum de-velopment research and evaluation cap-abilities, teaching techniques andClasaification of student needs; (6) toimprove the academic performance andcapabilities of students from disad-vantaged urban environments; (7) toproduce an assessment system that supportsstudent programming, practical researchstudies and project evaluation; (8) toinvolve parente:in the activities ofthe children and school through specialprograms and training activities thatwill result in their active participationin the reinforcement of the educationalprocess; (9) to establish a program forthe dissemination of information to thocommunity, Parents and educators; 110to expand:supplementary services (med-ical and educational) in the areas ofhearing, speech, home economy,- socialand psychological services; (31) todevelop programs in bilingual and:multi!,cultural education stressing the mutualrespect and understanding of differencesand developing learning techniques

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appropriate to different life styles;(12) to provide life style and heromodels with which each youngster canidentify and be relevant to his par-ticipation in the educational experience;(13) to articulate present staff withadditional staff for more effectiveprogram implementation; (14) to expandthe physical, sociological and educationalconcepts of the Pre-Kindergarten,Kinder-garten program upwards so as to involveall grade levels housed in Dale Avenue;(15) to reverse upwards the low exnec-tations of each youngster by self,teacher home and community.

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Dale Avenue Personnel Who Teach a Forty-fiveMinute Reading Group Every Morning.

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Upgrading Lovels One Through Three For

Reading

At the beginning of the 1971-72school year levels one through threewere grouped homogeneously for reading.Every specialist, aide and teacherspends, the first forty-five minutesOf the school day with a small group ofchildren. The children are in groups offrom five to fifteen. Each child, de-Pending on his reading level, was as-signed to a Particular group.

The grouping of the children wasdetermined primarily by the teachers'assessment at the end of school in June.A sampling of children in the thirdgrade were tested with the Bank StreetReading Test as determined by teacherestimate. The results tied in closelywith the estimation of the teachers sothat the testing was discontinued.

The regular reading groups aretaught by the following teachers and.aides: Mrs. Helen Bassett, Mrs. JeanrOrrucci, Mrs. Evelyn NOtkin-, Mis6 GoldyWeiner,` Mrs. Esther $Olomon, Mrs, SyrilFeuchtbaum, Mrs. Francis JUChnieWipz,Mrs. Rhoda SChenberg, Mrs. LouveniaConyers, Miss Mary Steele, Mr. CharlesPachella, Mrs. Geraldine Russo, Mrs."Lavinia Yarborough, Mr, John paiwnico,Mrs. Betty Hardy, Mrs:. Murleen Blair,Mr. Harry Kinderman, Mrs.- Virgini0Bannister, Mr. William Kelly, Mrs. BelPnCastro, Mr. Joseph Swann, Mrs. EuraliaFernandez, mrs. Annie Pearson, and Mr.John Tomasi.

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Perceptual Training in the Gymnasuim

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The Bank Street Basal Readers, work-books, supplementary books, reading games,and phonics and word attack activitiesare used in the regular reading groups.

There are six experimental groupsgoing on during the 9 to 9145 readingperiod. Two of them are for Third Levelpupilst the other four are for FirstLevel pupils. Mrs. Angie Del Prete, thehome economics teacher, along with Mrs.Dorothy Huntington, is working with agroup of children for whom the traditicinalreading program was unsuccessful. Al-though they were third grade pupils theywere reading on a primer level. Mrs. DelPrete began by ascertaining the listeningvocabulary of her group. She is listingthe words which the children know thatpertain to home economics and home en-vironment. A sight vocabulary of thesewords will be built and eventually, itis hoped, the children will be able toread simple directions for cooking.

Mrs. Helen Hanson, Title III ProjectDirector, Mrs. Anna Taliaferro, ParentCoordinator and Miss Marion Lippa, Sup-plementary Teacher, work in the librarywith ten Third Level children who arereading on a pre-primer level and whohave multiple disabilities. names,operant conditioning, building good self-concent, behavioral therapy and basicskills constitute instruction here.

Miss Sue Drabkin, Physical EducationTeacher, is working with a group of FirstLevel pupils who exhibit perceptual motorproblems that will make it difficult forthem to move into a formal reading program,Miss Drabkin is training the children to

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move through space and to make lettersand shapes with their bodies. TheChildren are reproducing on paper formswhich they have "walked out." SeveralChildren in this group have advancedsufficiently to return to a more formalreading group.

Mrs. Diane Savona, the art teacher,is teaching a group of First Levelchildren who exhibit some problem withform perception and encoding. Herchildren are drawing piCturet and labelingthem. The pictures are often constructedof basic forms. Mrs. Savona is givingadded meaning to encoding with "cavepictures" that tell a story. The alpha-bet is made more exciting and meaning -Jul by giving the letters an identity.

Mrs. Rose Levitt, the speech theta-piStf is helping First Level childrenwho need language development and stim-ulation. Before they can read formallythey must build an adequate vocabularyso they can understand what they read.MrS.' Levitt and the children have beenlabeling everything in the room and arenow beginning to "read" these labels.

Mr. Arnold Leeds, the music 0Pecia-list, hat been working with a group ofrirst Tievel children who enjoy music.These children are building word familiesand then putting thete words into music.

All the children in the specialreading groups and many of the regularreading groups seem to have Caught theinfectious enthusiasm of their teachers.the children ate "turned on" and func-tioning beautifully. The programs areexciting and innovative and the childrenare learning.

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From time to time children exhibitreadiness to move upward in the readinggroups. No child is moved until someappropriate testing has been done by theTitle III team to substantiate thechild's progress. A child moves aheadwhen testing indicates he should.

Not only in the reading groups butin all areas of learning the childrenwill be working at their own level re-gardless of what grade level they arein

The Title III Staff agrees whole-heartedly with the philosophy of Dr..Newell C. Kephart, Executive Director ofThe Achievement Center for Children atPUrdue University. He has stated thatfor children in whoM earlier stages ofdevelopment have been inadequate, oper7ation on the higher levels demanded byour eduCational methods beCome impossible.To continue An attempt to teach such achild at higher stages than his develop-ment would warrant set an impossibletask, both for the teacher and the child.It is necessary in the case of such achild to go back through the stages ofdevelopment, determine at which stagehe has broken down, supply the necessary1.0ArningS,' insure their integretion intogeneralization and reactivate the development process.

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Other Dale Avenue Personnel Who Work With Childre,in The 1st Thru 3rd Level.