The U.S. Department of Education’s back-to-school bus tour last month – aptly named Opportunity Across America – gave ED staff and others an opportunity to visit new Preschool Development Grants (PDG) classes in nine of the 18 states. Through the PDG program, 28,000 more children in over 230 high-need communities attended high-quality preschool classrooms last year; this fall the PDG states are gearing up to serve approximately 35,000 children.
Secretary King visited Pike View Early Childhood Center in the North Little Rock School District. There he met twins Eric and Leif, who are featured in our new preschool video. Sitting in front of a group of 4-yeat-olds, Dr. King read Mem Fox’s Whomever You Are, which celebrates the world’s diverse cultures.
Later, at the round table discussion, he heard from the parent of a child with a disability who was so excited her child has the opportunity to learn in an inclusive environment! Many children with disabilities still are trapped in segregated settings– like her child had been – without opportunities to learn with other kids. Now her child is excited about going to school and is even singing! The Secretary was also impressed with the solid work Arkansas has been doing for over a decade to provide preschool to three and four year olds.
While the Secretary was in Arkansas, ED staff visited classrooms in 8 other PDG states.
My colleague Bob Kim visited Little Scholars Early Development Center in the Bronx and said, “I had a blast!” There he met with Jasmin Corniel, the founding director, NYC Deputy Mayor Rich Buery, CEO of NYC Education Department’s early childhood education division, Sophia Pappas, and others. Bob was struck by the amazing facilities (which the director helped design with the architect a couple of years ago) and the innovative Reggio Emilia approach used at this site. The 70 children in the preschool were engaged in reading, building and playing materials full of differentiated objects. No pre-packaged toys here! This school also has 0-3 year olds allowing children an opportunity to stay at the same location for four or five straight years.
You can tell from the photo that Monique Chism, a colleague in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education had a wonderful time at Mater Academy of Nevada in Las Vegas. Monique and ED Teaching Ambassador Fellow (TAF) Stacey Johnston were impressed with how smart and engaged the children were—and how teachers were able to use play as the vehicle for rich, deep learning.
Anna Baldwin, another TAF, visited Anaconda in Montana. There she met with the teacher, school principal, and the regional facilitator and two grants supervisors from the Office o of Public Instruction. Even though it was only the 8th day of school the children knew and followed the classroom routine. Montana leaders noted that they are particularly happy to have funding for preschool since the state did not previously have preschool, and appreciate how the grant funds allow them to customize the program to meet the special needs in their local communities.
I was fortunate to visit Featherstone Elementary in a Virginia Preschool Initiative Plus classroom in Woodbridge. Emily Sasz, the teacher her assistant, Monica Hill got the class off to a rousing beginning with a dance/math activity. I calmed them down with a reading of Brown Bear, Brown Bear. Each child was able to participate in the story through an animal on a stick which they each held up on queue.
Other colleagues saw first-hand the power of high-quality preschool. Libia Gil visited a classroom in Arizona that supports dual language learners through a dual-immersion program, while Steven Hicks helped serve family style lunch in Maine. Ruth Ryder and Sue Swenson visited an inclusion program in Maryland, and TAF Melody Arabo visited a program in Massachusetts, where the teachers learn about their students’ families during home visits before school begins. As this Fact Sheet shows, all 18 states grew their state preschool programs through creating new classrooms and improving the quality of existing programs.
We know getting this program up and going took a lot of work—and couldn’t have happened without many of you. Your passionate and tireless efforts are making a difference. Over the first two years we will collectively have served about 63,000 children.
Click HERE!:
http://www2.ed.gov/opportunity/index.html...
Posted By: agnes levine
Tuesday, October 11th 2016 at 10:12AM
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