Reopening Early Childhood Classrooms - Updated Resources and FAQS
Early childhood programs can find the most recent information about school reopening and resources within the Office of Early Childhood FAQs. The most recent version of this document, as well as other useful early childhood COVID-19 resources, will be kept up-to-date on the VDOE Office of Early Childhood website. Additional updates will be posted shortly.
Return to School Resources
The VDOE continues to update a selection of resources related to school reopening during the COVID-19 health crisis. The below resources highlight some important information for review.
Local CLASS® Observations – Updated tools & resources for 2020-2021
Virginia is measuring and strengthening teacher-child interactions and instruction across birth-to-five classrooms in family day homes, child care, Head Start and school-based preschool classrooms. Last year the VDOE developed two important tools to help with local CLASS observations:
- Local Observations Guidebook to provide communities and school divisions with protocols, answers to FAQs, and links to resources for conducting local CLASS® observations in the various settings and programs across the state.
- CLASS Calculator is intended to help school personnel and other early childhood program leaders summarize data from their locally-conducted PreK CLASS observations.
An updated version of the Local Observations Guidebook and CLASS Calculator tool are now available on the Advancing Effective Interactions (AEII) Website via the Conducting CLASS Observations page.These tools are available and applicable to all early childhood programs, including VPI, ECSE, and those participating in PDG B-5.
Virtual PreK Observation Guidance- For Use in Virtual Classrooms due to COVID-19
The VDOE is in the process of developing Virtual PreK Observation Guidance in alignment with CLASS. This guidance will allow program leaders to collect information and provide teacher feedback while instruction is temporarily being conducted virtually. This guidance should not be used to provide scores for teachers and should only be used with classrooms that are being conducted fully-virtually.
This guidance will be made available shortly on the Advancing Effective Interactions (AEII) Website via the Conducting CLASS Observations page.
CLASS® Trainings & Materials from Teachstone®
Through an agreement with the Virginia Department of Education, lower pricing is available for many CLASS trainings and supporting materials for early childhood programs and organizations involved in quality improvement efforts in Virginia. Visit the Virginia Teachstone Support Page for product and pricing information.
School Division CLASS procurement information can be found on the VDOE website procurement page.
Final Public Comment Period for Virginia’s New, Unified Set of Early Learning and Development Standards Set for This Fall
Virginia has worked across stakeholders and experts to develop a unified set of early learning and development (ELD) standards for children ages birth to five. The final draft will be posted for public comment, with a specific focus on cultural responsiveness and inclusivity, this fall. Information on how to provide feedback will be sent via the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation (VECF) and subsequent Readiness Connections communications. The draft and feedback survey will once again be housed on the VECF website.
Note: Once finalized, these standards will replace the Department of Social Services’ Milestones of Child Development and the Virginia Department of Education’s Foundation Blocks for Early Learning documents. Programs are able to phase in the use of the new birth-five standards, with expected use beginning in 2021-2022.
For questions about Virginia’s Birth-Five ELD Standards project, contact Tamilah Richardson at Tamilah.Richardson@doe.virginia.gov.
“Cups and Conversations” to Resume in October- Now Monthly on First Wednesdays @ 3:30
“Cups and Conversations” has served as a time for colleagues from across the Commonwealth to informally talk about how they are supporting families and young children through the COVID-19 crisis. Now that most or all schools have reopened for the 2020-2021 school year, VDOE will be shifting to a monthly/afternoon format. The new series will begin on October 7th and continue on the first Wednesday of each month at 3:30 p.m. Registration is required to participate.
The final summer session focused on how Head Start has reopened and operated ECCE programs during the pandemic and was led by Taundwa Jeffries, Head Start Collaboration Office Director, and Katie Stockhausen from Hanover County Public Schools. A recording is now available.
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Register for the Cups and Conversation Recurring Series
- First Wednesday of the month at 3:30 p.m., the next session is on October 7th at 3:30 p.m.
Advancing Effective Interactions and Instruction (AEII) for School-Based Pre-K
The Advancing Effective Interactions and Instruction (AEII) initiative will continue and expand during the 2020-2021 school year. This year, AEII will support all public school-based pre-K classrooms, including VPI, Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) and Title I. As school divisions begin 2020-2021 in a variety of virtual, hybrid, and in-person configurations, the AEII initiative will work collaboratively with early childhood coordinators to determine how to best support pre-K teachers.
All VPI and ECSE Coordinators should review Superintendent Memo #237-20 posted on Friday, September 11, which provides additional information on what to expect for the 2020-2021 school year.
Support for Social and Emotional Learning
The VDOE’s social and emotional learning (SEL) efforts are driven by our commitment to ensure that every student in Virginia attends a school that maximizes their potential and prepares them for the future: academically, socially, and emotionally. To support school divisions in their implementation of SEL, the VDOE has developed a dedicated Social and Emotional Learning web page that includes information, tools, and resources.
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