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 Hello!
Hope your school year is off to a great start!
We are pleased to present the first Early Learning
newsletter of 2017-18!
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Click on the links here to go directly to a topic:
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There is a brand new team in the Early Learning Office at OSPI! We are a small but mighty team of three: Ellen Mathews, Administrative Assistant; Karma Hugo, Director of Early Learning; and Amber Havens, WaKIDS Assessment Coordinator.
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While each of us come from different backgrounds, we are all passionate about the health and success of our earliest learners! We have come together around a common goal – to provide the children of Washington State with a strong foundation from which to grow. The three of us also share a deep appreciation for folks in communities who work to build that foundation every day. Thank you for all you do!
Office Contact Info
Ellen Mathews, Administrative Assistant for Early Learning and WaKIDS, OSPI
Office: 360-725-6161 | Email: ellen.mathews@k12.wa.us or WaKIDS@k12.wa.us
Amber Havens, WaKIDS Assessment Coordinator, OSPI
Office: 360-725-6180 | Email: amber.havens@k12.wa.us
Karma Hugo, Director of Early Learning, OSPI
Office: 360-725-6153 | Email: karma.hugo@k12.wa.us
A Celebration!
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Well, it has finally happened! As of this fall, Washington has reached complete implementation of state-funded full-day kindergarten (FDK). Among the requirements of FDK is the implementation of Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (WaKIDS).
WaKIDS began in 2009 when the Legislature directed OSPI to identify a kindergarten assessment process. A pilot was conducted that analyzed three different “whole-child” assessments and ways to connect kindergarten teachers with families and early learning providers. Teaching Strategies GOLD® (GOLD) was selected as the whole-child assessment and two additional components of WaKIDS were developed: the Family Connection and Early Learning Collaboration. A voluntary GOLD® pilot was conducted in the 2011–12 school year, with WaKIDS becoming required in all state-funded full-day kindergarten classrooms beginning in fall 2012. Each year, WaKIDS rolled out to more and more schools, based on the percentage of students qualifying for free-and-reduced lunches. Each year, teachers and schools across Washington learned more and more about how to use the information gained from WaKIDS to best support children and families and strengthen alignment with community childcare providers.
Now that we are at full implementation, we expect to continue to gain insight into the strengths and needs the children we serve, as well as the systems intended to support them.
MyTeachingStrategies™
In July 1, 2017, GOLD®, the online assessment tool used as part of WaKIDS was upgraded to a new platform called MyTeachingStrategies™. The new platform features expanded progressions of Objectives and Dimensions that extend through 3rd grade. The expanded progressions will benefit kindergarten teachers in several ways:
- Teachers can assess students with more advanced skills more precisely.
- Teachers can refer students with more advanced skills for screening to determine if they would benefit by access to accelerated learning (see WAC 392-170-078).
- Teachers opting to use the assessment tool to document student growth as part of the Teacher Principal Evaluation Program (TPEP) will have opportunities to follow students with a greater ranger of entering skills because the progressions will not stop at the kindergarten level.
Please note that even though MyTeachingStrategies™ has been expanded through third grade, state policy requires only kindergarten teachers to assess their students at the beginning of the school year.
WaKIDS Data & Reports Webinar
The Early Learning Office at OSPI invites you to learn how to generate WaKIDS reports and utilize the data to inform and plan instruction, inform needs assessments and provide feedback to families and early learning providers. OSPI and Teaching Strategies staff will guide you through the WaKIDS timeline and share recommended practices for getting the most out of this important assessment.
Date: November 13th
Time: 1-2 pm
Audience: District Assessment Coordinators, Curriculum Directors, Early Learning Coordinators, Teacher-Leaders
Zoom/Registration Information: The webinar will be recorded and available at:
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_uynoKRS2TWiarztz0QCN-A
FDK in Alternative Learning Experience Settings Survey
School districts and charter schools accepting state-funding for offering full-day kindergarten in the Alternative Learning Experience (ALE) setting must complete the following survey describing how they are meeting the requirements of RCW 28A.300.500 per WAC 392-121-182 (9)(e).
This information will be used to better understand the models, and inform the drafting of final rules for full-day kindergarten in the ALE setting.
Here is the link to the full-day kindergarten survey. Survey deadline: December 15, 2017
If you have questions contact: Karma Hugo, Director of Early Learning, OSPI
Office: 360-725-6153| Email: karma.hugo@k12.wa.us
WaKIDS User Management and Data Cleanup - Do's and Don'ts
Children's accounts and their data are archived from GOLD® every June. This leaves "empty" classrooms which can be deleted or edited making room for the subsequent year. Please check your GOLD® class(es) and remove/delete any of these from the system.
GOLD® also contains duplicate user accounts. MyTeachingStrategies™ and OSPI will be merging all duplicate user accounts following the October Checkpoint.
Reminder: No new users should be added at this time. If a teacher needs to be added, they must wait until they are trained at a WaKIDS 101 session.
Have questions or need information? Contact us! We are here to help!
Amber Havens, WaKIDS Assessment Coordinator, OSPI
Office: 360-725-6180 | Email: amber.havens@k12.wa.us
Technical Support for MyTeachingStrategies™
MyTeachingStrategies™ has a dedicated technical support team ready to assist you! They can be reached via email or phone:
Email: wakids@teachingstrategies.com
Phone: 844-853-4653
MyTeachingStrategies™ & WaKIDS Resources
We know districts have time dedicated to supporting kindergarten teachers, professional staff and school administrators around the implementation of WaKIDS. Here are some suggested resources available on the OSPI website:
http://www.k12.wa.us/wakids
- Assessing Children who are English Language Learners
- Teacher's Check List
- WaKIDS Pacing Guide
- Webinars and videos of how Washington districts are successfully using WaKIDS:
http://www.k12.wa.us/EarlyLearning/default.aspx
http://www.k12.wa.us/WaKIDS/Materials/default.aspx
- Instructional Activities to Observe Kindergarteners' Mathematics Skills
- The Principal Series is a set of one-page PDF flyers with guidance for leading the implementation of WaKIDS in their schools:
#1: Supporting Teachers
#2: Family Connection
#3: Whole-Child Assessment
#4: Connecting WaKIDS, Learning Standards, and TPEP
#5: Early Learning Collaboration
Resources specific to learning about the MyTeachingStrategies™ online platform can be found on the dashboard/landing page of “Resources for Returning Users”. There you will find introductory courses, videos and regular Town Hall meetings hosted by MyTeachingStrategies™.
To print more Objectives for Development and Learning booklets to use and share follow these directions:
- Navigate to the Develop area within MyTeachingStrategies™ and select My Courses
- Select the Objectives for Development and Learning Course
- Select the Exploring the Objectives interest
- Select the Progressions for Birth Through Third Grade bubble
- Click Next, then Resources to download the PDF
Or follow this link to access them now:
https://mypd.teachingstrategies.com/?course=ODL&interest=01ODL&activity=2418
It’s widely recognized that strong leadership is needed to build and sustain high-quality early learning programs that make a difference for children, families and teachers. We applaud the many principals and central office staff who have made early learning a priority in their schools! Please let us know how we can support you!
Starting Strong 2017-18
At the P-3 Leadership Networking session at this summer’s Starting Strong conference, we asked participants to share their leadership goals for this coming school year. Here is what they said:
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Cultivate administrator buy-in for early learning and WaKIDS
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Build/strengthen PreK-K collaboration
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Recalibrate with WaKIDS
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Build/strengthen community partnerships
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Align curriculum across programs and systems
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Strengthen the transition into kindergarten
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Coordination across PreK programs
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Begin to focus on developmentally appropriate practices 1st - 3rd grade, including play
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Integrating early learning into district strategic plans
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Provide/develop supports and training specific to principals
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Increasing access to high-quality PreK
These are all important goals and the Early Learning office at OSPI is interested in them as well! Please share your successes with us!
Regional Early Learning Coalitions
What skills are children excelling at or lacking when entering kindergarten? Do the children in your community have equitable access to early learning programs? What gaps exist? What preschool and early learning programs (public and private) exist in your community? How do you plan to work with early learning and community leaders in your area? Regional Early Learning Coalitions are a great local resource that might be able to help you answer some of these questions. There are ten regional coalitions that include broad participation from most early learning systems. To find the coalition in your area check out:
https://thrivewa.org/work/community-partnerships-and-initiatives/
(Taken from Funding Early Learning Activities in Washington State with Title I, Part A: Birth – Age Five.)
http://www.k12.wa.us/esea/essa/pubdocs/FundingEarlyLearningActivitiesinWashingtonState.pdf
Early Learning Fellows
The Fellows’ Network is a group of instructional leaders convened by OSPI and the Association of Educational Service Districts (AESD) to support district and community implementation of state learning standards in mathematics, English Language Arts (ELA), and science, and the Early Learning Guidelines. Fellows meet four times a year and build individual action plans, in partnership with their sponsoring administrator, to apply their learning in their local context. Early Learning Fellows are unique in that participants span across early learning systems, including school districts, preschool programs, home visiting and other community-based early learning settings.
Prospective Fellows must submit an application to participate. Applications for the 2017-18 Fellow cohort is unfortunately already closed, but you can learn more about the Washington State Fellows’ Network here:
http://www.k12.wa.us/CurriculumInstruct/Fellows.aspx
You can find the Early Learning Fellows contact person in your regional ESD here:
http://www.k12.wa.us/CurriculumInstruct/ESDFellowContacts.aspx
Subscribe to the Early Learning Newsletter
Keep in the know and receive all the latest from Early Leaning and WaKIDS by adding yourself to our mailing list. Just click this link for subscriber services and add your email address:
https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/WAOSPI/subscriber/new
Update your District’s Early Learning Contacts
OSPI has been keeping a list of “Early Learning Contacts” posted here:
http://www.k12.wa.us/EarlyLearning/Contacts.aspx
Please take a look at the contact person listed for your district and update, if needed.
Help Us Map the State of Early Learning in Washington Schools
Late this fall, OSPI, along with the department of Early Learning and many other partners, is taking a survey of early learning programs in school districts. With the results of the survey, we plan to develop an interactive map showing the early learning opportunities in all (hopefully!) 295 districts. Please be on the look-out for a link to this short survey coming soon! |
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 Guide to Funding Early Learning
Activities in Washington State with
Title I, Part A
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OPSI is pleased to share about new allowable uses of Title dollars that could support early learning efforts for children from Birth to Age 5. You can find this useful guide here:
http://www.k12.wa.us/esea/essa/pubdocs/FundingEarlyLearningActivitiesinWashingtonState.pdf
Additional resources can be found in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) District Resources section of the ESSA pages on the OSPI website located here:
http://www.k12.wa.us/esea/essa/DistrictResources.aspx
Head Start Performance Standards
When Title I, Part A funds are used for preschool, that program must meet Head Start education performance standards. These standards can be referenced on the Head Start Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center website here:
https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/policy/45-cfr-chap-xiii
Learning Pathways in Literacy & Numeracy
Each of these Pathways describes the developmental unfolding of skills in literacy and numeracy, from birth through third grade. They also show how each indicator is linked to Common Core, Teaching Strategies GOLD® and the Washington Early Learning and Development Guidelines. Both of the Pathways' documents are open educational resources that can be shared broadly with community PreK providers who may not have access to Teaching Strategies GOLD®.
Learning Pathways in Literacy:
http://www.k12.wa.us/ELA/pubdocs/EarlyLiteracyPathways.pdf
Learning Pathways in Numeracy: http://www.k12.wa.us/WaKIDS/pubdocs/LearningPathwaysInNumeracy.pdf.
Washington State Full-day Kindergarten Guide
The Washington State Full-day Kindergarten Guide was prepared for administrators and teachers as they design and implement full-day kindergarten classrooms in Washington. http://www.k12.wa.us/EarlyLearning/pubdocs/WAFull-dayKGuide-January2016.pdf
Order hard copies from the state Department of Enterprise Services:
myprint.wa.gov
Child Outcome Summary Cross-walked with GOLD®
This resource may be useful for special educators who use, or are interested in using Teaching Strategies GOLD® for children ages 0-5. The Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center has cross-referenced Teaching Strategies Objectives of Development and Learning with the three child outcomes required by the Office of Special Education Programs for Part B/619 and Part C:
http://ectacenter.org/eco/assets/pdfs/TS_GOLD_Fall2012_6_8.pdf
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