Value-Added Early Learning
by Brian Middleton-Cox, M.M., M.Ed.
June 9, 2011
I have been spending some time thinking about early childhood education and the experiences that we give our youngest students as they enter for a long, and hopefully rewarding, academic career. In Harriet Dichter’s recent article entitled “Value-Added Early Learning,” from Principal Magazine (May/June 2011), she shares the story of how the state of Pennsylvania reorganized a failing pre-school program and built a new program which has become focused on student learning. The state’s goal was to develop an integrated, efficient, and effective way to maximize its public investment to best meet the needs of children.
To reach that goal, a framework was developed with key factors to accomplish the goal:
• Systems planning, monitoring, and accountability;
• Standards for programs and practitioners;
• Support to meet and maintain standards;
• Engagement and outreach; and
• Financial supports. (Ditchter, p. 18)
Then learning standards were developed and new early childhood programs were developed. Staff members created common assessments, and they also engaged in a lot of professional development. Throughout the training process, participants did the following:
• Became familiar with advances in the science of early childhood growth and early brain development;
• Developed an awareness of the important influence of early childhood educational experiences on the production of a sturdy foundation for future cognitive, social, and emotional development;
• Identified the multiple contexts within which children develop;
• Summarized the best research, policies, and practices to apply in a given context; and
• Acquired leadership strategies for effectively coordinating early childhood and K-3 learning environments, including the transitions from preschool to kindergarten and on to the primary grades. (Dichter, p. 19)
Since the program developed in 2003, Pennsylvania’s work in this area has paid off for students and their families. Here in our local town of Wakefield, the Wakefield Public Schools recognizes the importance of giving young children rich, meaningful learning experiences that will not only make them grow academically, but also socially. When young children are engaged in play, there are so many things that we as educators notice and create goals for each student to help them reach their social potential.
The Woodville School houses integrated half-day programs along with two full-day programs. The Dolbeare School houses an integrated full-day program. When I walk though the preschool classrooms at the Woodville School, I love to see the students on Special Education Plans (IEPs) and “typically developing” children working and playing together. That dynamic cannot be matched. They are all getting a quality education.
The preschool staff in Wakefield are working each year to make our programs stronger and more positive experiences for our youngsters. We look at the learning standards and engage in discussions and professional development to provide the staff with the most recent research and strategies to use with their students. I am very proud of the staff in Wakefield’s preschool programs and wish them the best of luck in the future for continued success.
Brian Middleton-Cox, M.M., M.Ed., is the Principal of the Woodville School in Wakefield, MA.
