Common Core and Common Sense – There is a lot of turmoil and controversy these days over Common Core (CC) and how the desire to have nation-wide standardized expectations for education has snowballed (or train wrecked) through the country.

The original idea, thanks to some ‘experts’ working with Bill Gates and many of his dollars, was a good one, because there should be an organized system of clearly defined goals that explain what children are expected to learn.

The first issue with CC is that many early educators say the standards created were not developmentally appropriate for children under eight. I have read and reread them and compared them to the developmental milestones of many early education curricula including the ‘traditionals’ like Creative Curriculum, High Scope, Montessori, and Bank Street; to a variety of individual programs using a variety of curricula, like Head Start, Reggio Emilia, private day care, faith-based preschools, and VPK (FL based pre-kindergarten program managed by the public school system); and to the recommendations of the ‘biggies’ like the American Medical Association, American Pediatric Association, and NAEYC, and in my opinion, the Common Core STANDARDS are not far off the mark. Uh, oh – losing some readers now!

It is not the standards that are developmentally wrong – it is the practices teachers have been forced to implement because of the measuring of those standards – the incredibly inappropriate standardized testing system, that is completely wrong.

Gates created a monster that Godzillaed its way from Washington throughout the country, was radioactively altered by the evil greedy test makers, and now causes five-year-olds to have clinical depression over the stress of test taking and making sure their favorite teacher can feed her family because if he fails, she makes less money!

I personally and openly blame Arne Duncan for this, and not just because his first name is spelled funny and his last name is a yoyo. I will probably also lay blame on the Betsy DeVos theory of “education” which is not based on research and which insists on channeling funds to privatized charter schools rather than making necessary changes (USING DAP) to our pubic education system. NO, BETSY, NO!

As teachers have always done – while legislators, administrators, and other ‘educational experts’ make mincemeat of education – please try your best to do what’s right for your children and their parents. Calm the fears, sneak in lots of active learning experiences, fight hard for Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) and wait until this wave of silliness in American education passes.

 

As I was thinking about some of my pet peeves in early education settings and ranting about Walt Disney, it occurred to me that I am not being completely fair about allowing teachers to choose what they think is best for THEIR children and about encouraging eclecticism and elasticity in curricular options.

If you have a class full of boys* and girls who LOVE the Disney Princess dresses and the plastic Kardashian heels, certainly have them available – IF, and it is a BIG IF – there is still purposeful play and real learning involved in the experience of dressing in them.

My point on the Dress Up Center, is that the more raw and natural your props are for developing imagination and creativity, the better the learning will be. Imitation and Imagination are both excellent skills to develop, with imitation being slightly less ‘evolved’, but still as VITAL as imagination.

Also, no matter how we pushed in the 70’s for a sense of gender equality by seeing that girls played with blocks and trucks and boys got to dress up and work in the kitchen (STILL A GOOD IDEA, BY THE WAY!) we must understand and accept that due to natural human development plus environment, on the playground your boys will most often use sticks as weapons and girls will use them to build campfires to cook s’mores.

One year, Maria Pagnotta, an outstanding teacher I know, had a morning class of ALL boys (3’s and 4’s). She displayed all the regular props in her Home/Dress Up Center, including a child-size wooden ironing board and iron. NOT ONE of those little guys knew what the traditional use of that iron was. They used it to mash play dough, mimic a rocket launch into space, and hammer golf tees into the peg board. Maria, being the great teacher she was, let all of this occur). Now, the girls in the mixed gender, but same-aged class who used that same room in the afternoons, seemed to immediately realize the ‘normal’ use of the iron and they pressed their Cinderella gowns up a storm before heading to the ball to lose their glass slippers.

Use whatever creates the most and the most high-quality learning in your class. If your children like and CAN LEARN FROM store-bought plastic primary-colored props, use them. But, please try using more raw, natural, unmarked items so the children can use them to create their own ideas, change materials from one-use to multi-use, and not just imitate, but imagine and create.

*YES – PLEASE let the boys wear the dresses and the heels if they want to! Tell their daddies to relax. This is how we all learn who we are and what makes us feel comfortable and happy.

The Program – Self-Assessment First – A good formal self-assessment procedure begins with open and honest documented observations of the program by parents and staff members using an appropriate assessment tool matching the standards of the licensing agency or accreditation association or the completion of assessment surveys or questionnaires.  The surveys should cover all aspects of the program including physical environment, whole staff expertise, and educational quality of the curriculum.  Questions on the survey should be written clearly and opportunities for comments and suggestions should be afforded. 

The results of the surveys must then be tabulated, documented, and recorded, and the administrative staff – or a committee of staff members and parents comprising a Self-Assessment Committee– should devise a plan for improving areas of need shown by the surveys. 

Programs can devise their own tools or forms for self-assessment (based on their own mission, standards, and job descriptions) or use forms from reputable curricula or accreditation agencies.

Accreditation Assessment – An accreditation process is a great way to thoroughly assess your program and although some of the procedures are tedious, and some accreditation costs are pricey, a national accreditation certification is good for your program. It builds your reputation, proves your worth and increases staff morale, and may even “sell” your program to more parents.

Most national and many state and local licensing and accreditation agencies require an annual assessment of each program applying for a license or accreditation status.  This should include a self-assessment element before the formal assessment visit and usually, the accreditation agency asks for copies of the self-assessment survey results and the improvement plan you have created.

An “official” visit by licensing bureau or accreditation agency is then held, in which a representative of the agency observes the program and documents his/her findings concerning compliance with agency standards.  Results of the findings of the official visit are shared with the program, and the representative determines the program to be in or out of compliance and whether the program qualifies for license or accreditation certificate.

They’re Coming! – There is always stress when outside accreditation or licensing agents arrive to perform a formal assessment of your program. If your program performs a successful self-assessment and takes steps to improve any areas of weakness or need before the arrival of these representatives, it will make the accreditation process much easier.  Even when you are visited by local licensing reps (county childcare agencies, fire and health departments) there is stress.

In the 70’s, before childcare regulations existed or were strictly enforced, I remember working in a privately owned (and unnamed) day care center as Lead Teacher in a class of over 30 two-year-olds.  On occasion I had an assistant, Miss Virginia. On ‘inspection days”, Miss Virginia would scamper from class to class through back hallways, popping up like “Where’s Waldo?” in each crowded single-teacher classroom as the “Assistant Teacher” when the county licensing agent counted heads for correct child-teacher ratios.  Ah – those were the days.

Learning Experiences – Classroom learning experiences must be evaluated for the same reasons as the curriculum, but must be particularly assessed by teachers on an ongoing basis by observing the experiences as they are happening and after their occurrence, by noting any effects the experiences had on the classroom environment, by observing the behaviors of the children during the experiences, and by simply noticing whether learning took place. 

Remember      Before – Will the experience be:          
Right                 Does match up with the levels and needs of my community of learners?
Reasonable     Is it “doable” for my community?  Is it practical?
Real                   Are the children going to be moving, active, and hands-on?
Relatable         Is it interesting and familiar to the children? Is if relevant to them,                              their needs, to their families? Is there new learning to be made from it?
Repeatable      Can the children practice the skills learned in it over and over and over?
Relaxing           Can it be offered in a safe, organized way?
Recreational   Is it fun?
Riggable           Can it be modified easily if it doesn’t work?

And                    After – Was the experience:                                                           Righteous        Was there Primary, Secondary, and/or Spontaneous Learning?

 

Staff Performance

Just like assessment of child progress, we need to keep in mind that assessment of Staff Performance is about the WORK, NOT THE STAFF MEMBER!

Individual Staff Performance Assessment/evaluation should happen annually and whatever form is used should match exactly with the written job performance given to each staff person at the time of employment, so that assessor and staff person have a clear, concise, and agreed-upon picture of performance expectations.

To complete an accurate and fair Staff Performance Assessment, assessors really must visit all areas of a campus, including every classroom, all outdoor play areas, enrichment class spaces, and kitchen and bathroom facilities, on a continuing basis to assure compliance with licensing and accreditation standards.  They must be knowledgeable about every aspect of a program and must accept full responsibility for program management and quality.

Do the OCDRP – The procedure for Staff Performance Assessment is similar to the Child Progress Assessment in that the assessor needs to Observe, Collaborate with the person being assessed, and Document. Referral might be used to find training for an individual with observed and documented needs and a Strength Plan is necessary for those individuals as well, so needs can be made into strengths, training can be provided, opportunities for performance improvements can be made, and either excellence can be achieved or employment can be curtailed.

Next Blog: Assessment of a Total Program

The success of any school or program depends on continuing assessment of all of its aspects – not just child progress. To assure the high quality of education young children deserve, the curriculum, the staff, and the processes and procedures of the total program need to be evaluated by the current program staff and administration, local or state regulatory and licensing agencies and ideally, by a reputable accreditation organization.

The Curriculum – Any curriculum used and all learning experiences devised should be evaluated for quality, developmental appropriateness, practicality, and relevancy to the needs of the children in a program. Things to keep in mind when choosing a curriculum:

• The quality of a curriculum should be judged on the expertise, educational and experiential background of its authors, on its comparison to high quality established curricula already in use, on the validity of its research, on its recommendation or approval by a reputable local, state, or national education accreditation agency or association, and on its appropriateness to the particular mission of the program.
• Developmental appropriateness should be evaluated by the philosophy of the curriculum in relation to valid child development theories, standards and milestones. 
• Practicality can be determined by actual use of the curriculum and determination of its ease and efficiency in a program or in a classroom. 
• Whether a curriculum is relevant to a particular learning community can be assessed by having familiarity with the needs and aspects of the children and families in the program and making sure the curriculum matches in need, interests, ethnicities, language differences, and experiences.
• A program can certainly use elements from a number of curricula, or can mandate that its teachers exclusively follow the tenets of a single curriculum.
• In choosing a curriculum, administrators and teachers should also ask for parent input and advice.

So, How Do We Choose?? – Here is a brief comparison of some of the best Early Education Curricula in the business including Bank Street, Creative Curriculum, High Scope, Kamii-DeVries, Montessori, Reggio Emilia, Waldorf, and Winter Park (my own creation). The best programs and classrooms are ones in which teachers are allowed and encouraged to pick from each of these types of excellent, developmentally appropriate, child-centered, highly researched curricula, and use what is best in each for the children in her learning community.

 Curricula Comparison for WordPress

Next Blog: Assessment – Learning Experiences and Staff Performance

 

 

 

 

 

So, Now What? – The final step in the assessment process is Planning – the sharing of each child’s portfolio of work, notes, photos, and completed Assessment Tool and the creation of a Strength Plan for each child.  This should be done twice during the year, if possible, and all planning should be done with parent consultation and signed consent.  I STRONGLY suggest your plan should be stated in this formula: Strengths-Needs-Plan, emphasizing each child’s strengths first, his needs second, and a plan for using the strengths to meet the needs.

“State the Strengths, Note the Needs, Plan for Progress” is my motto.

For most of the children the plan will be simple.  Teacher and parent look at all of the assessment information, determine strengths and needs, and create a plan for continued progress.  The plan can be written in a sentence or two at the bottom of the Tool itself (or be on a separated Strength Plan Form. Both parent and teacher sign the form at the parent-teacher conference, and the plan is initiated in the classroom.  There should be space on the form for comments as well. Here is a sample:

Strength Plan Form

For some of the children the plan will be more difficult as the teacher-parent team may feel referral assistance is needed or that the child’s behaviors and skill acquisition are not on a satisfactory level according to the developmental standards.  In these cases, teachers need to make suggestions to the parent for implementing recommendations from referral resources or they may have their own recommendations for alternate methods and activities that will make better use of the child’s strengths to assure improvement in his progress. 

AGH! Conferences – Parent-Teacher conferences are not easy, but must be done professionally and positively.  Your purpose is to note strengths and needs and to create, with parent input, a Strength Plan for each child’s continuing progress in learning. Be prepared for conferences by having all the information you need at hand including Assessment Tool and portfolio.

Conferences are best with both parents present, without the child present, and no other siblings present, if possible. Try to hold them in the classroom so you can point out each child’s favorite work area. Allow 10 to 15 minutes for each conference and make every attempt to stick to that rule by having a clock or timer on the table so other parents are not kept waiting. I always have a box of tissues on hand as well.

Have a professional but warm and friendly attitude, be empathetic, and ALWAYS START WITH THE CHILD’S STRENGTHS!!!!

Here are some examples of positively stated teacher comments you might use to get parent input on a strength plan:

• “Stephanie loves to be outside, but needs to work on standing and then walking, so we will work on the outdoor baby gym to continue to strengthen her pulling up muscles.  Is there a park near your home so you can work on this outdoors, too? Is there anything else you can suggest?”
• “Kurt is bigger than the other children, but you can see from the several incident reports you signed that he is often aggressive and needs to work on his social and friend-making skills.  We will give him a position of responsibility every day so he can learn to use those big muscles to help others.  Dad, you say he and his big brother rough-house at home.  How about playing games with him at home that are not overly aggressive and destructive and maybe go for walks with him rather than watching wrestling on TV? What else do you want us to emphasize with him?”
•  “Since Melissa is a terrific listener, but needs to work on literacy skills, what do you think about working with on her pre-reading skills by offering her more time in the Listening Center with her favorite books on tape?  I have a tape player you can take home, too. Do you have another things you’d like to see happen at school?”
• “Thomas is already using phonics to read, but does not talk during Circle Time and it sounds like he’s having some difficulty pronouncing certain sounds.  Here’s the name of a good Speech Therapist.  You can call her, or I can give you a list of some other therapists. Maybe working with one can help him feel more comfortable talking and he can practice by reading aloud to the other children. How do you want to proceed?”

Easy as Pie – Conferences are never all fun and games, but I can just about guarantee if you use these types of communications – and the Strength-Need-Plan formula, no parent will be waiting menacingly in the parking lot for you with a wiffle bat after your next parent-teacher meetings.

 

Next Blog: Assessment – The Rest of the Program

 

 

The third step in the OCDRP system of assessment is Referral.

Where to Go Next – Referral means that a teacher is requesting or suggesting that there is a need for professional assistance beyond the capabilities of the program staff in order to meet the needs of a child’s behavior or skill acquisition.

Referrals are made ONLY after PARENT permission and agreement is given.  It could be suggested to a parent that he/she make the referral contact, but program staff should support that contact or offer to make it if the parent cannot.  Parents who do not feel comfortable speaking to or meeting with referral agencies or individuals should be assisted by program staff as advocates.

Every Program should have a Resource List available to parents and teachers showing professional individuals and agencies in the community who can be of service to in the determination of any needs a child may have.  Administrators should compile the Resource List or find one suggested by local licensing agencies. 

A good Resource List should include physicians, therapists, psychologists, diagnosticians, screeners, or agencies relating to specific aspects in each of the Learning Areas and in issues relating to Family.

• Body               General Health, Growth, Hearing, Vision, Speech, Physicality             
• Mind               Attention Span, Focus, Speech, Learning Differences
• Spirit              Anxiety, Impulsivity, Depression, Fear
• Family           Concerns about Health, Abuse, Neglect, Finance, or Emergencies

Special Interest groups that deal with parenting issues such as health, disabilities, multiples, adopted children, single parenting, same-sex couple parenting are also helpful to parents.

The BEST programs include ALL of the above AND help parents find the right resources AND provide education and training programs for their parents          ON-SITE!

Here’s Where Things Can Get a Little Sticky – It is hard for parents to hear that there may be something “different” about their child’s ability to learn and develop fully. In fact, in some instances, it can be excruciating. Explaining to a parent that his/her child may have special needs that you need assistance in defining or diagnosing is not easy and must be done using facts without opinion or judgement.

You must NEVER diagnose! You must refer to professionals for this. You owe this to each child, each parent, and the reputation of your program.

No Surprises – As the bearer of the message that a child may need referral, you may be on the receiving end of tears, questions, defensiveness, and anger. If you have communicated your concerns early and often during the year, this will be an easier process. If suddenly mid-way or late in the year you announce you have concerns serious enough to warrant referral, you need to retrain yourself on both observation and communication skills. If you find yourself in the position of suggesting referral for a child, use the advice on conferences later in the next blog.

Next Blog: Planning and Conferences

We are all aware of the Common Core issues and the use of standardized testing to determine accountability in our public schools. The Common Core Standards are NOT AWFUL! But the implementation of the techniques being suggested, even forced, on teachers in order to reach these standards TRULY IS AWFUL. It is the least developmentally appropriate practice being implemented in recent educational history and all early educators should band together to stop it.

The Country Mouse and the City Mouse – The other ‘beefs’ I have about the current public education situation is the terrible idea that a single standardized test can measure the value of all children’s learning and that the scores on that test can or should determine the progress of a child from grade to grade level or the value of the work of the teacher in the learning community.

We have to have national standards, but we do not have to use standardized methods of presenting information to children. What we offer them must be relevant to them and meaningful to their life situations in order for the learning to be of value and high quality. Children in the urban inner cities and children in the rural towns must all learn to count, but some will learn by counting how many city blocks they walk to school and some will learn by counting cows! There should never be a mandate for standardized teaching methods except for their being developmentally appropriate for the particular learning community.

Teacher Accountability – As for the idea of accountability and worth of the work of any teacher being judged by test scores, it is just plain stupid. I believe that there are so many more variables in this equation, it is ridiculous and extremely demeaning to suggest that salaries and career advancement of teachers should be determined by children’s test scores, and I am furious with whomever advocates this idea. (Looking at you, Bill Gates and Arne Duncan!)

A teacher’s work should be judged by administrators who have had their own teaching experience and that judgement must take into consideration things like class size, physical condition of the facility itself, the economic level of the community and the effects of poverty (numbers of children with diagnosed special needs including hunger, chronic illnesses, and safety issues) amount and quality of a teacher’s past and continuing education, and above all the quality of administrative, parent, and community involvement and support. No teacher’s work should be assessed by the ‘failure’ of a kindergarten student to successfully pass a single standardized test administered on a computer he does not have experience with.

All That Being Ranted – We do need to find ways to assess our children’s learning and to assess our programs (and teachers) for accountability, so for those children headed into kindergarten, using an ACTIVE and INTERACTIVE MINIMALLY TECHNOLOGICAL testing situation that includes the HUMAN FACTOR and takes a developmentally appropriate amount of time to perform and is based directly, specifically, and purely on the (again) developmentally appropriate educational objectives of your program is ok.

Next Blog: Assessment – Referral

Take Picture. It’ll Last Longer! – Don’t forget to use your camera, cell phone, or video recorder if you have this media available. Photos and videos make excellent documentation of work in progress.

Digital Documentation – There are many systems for digital documentation these days. Some are more easily adapted for early education than others. From an article by Jennifer Rita Nichols, an intern at TeachThought.com, here are some you may want to evaluate for your program: Easy Portfolios, Evernote, Voice Thread, Open School ePortfolio, Three Ring, Kidblog, Wikispaces for Education, and Weebly.  

Commonsense.org rates Seesaw, WeLearnedIt, Three Ring, FreshGrade, Edmodo, eBackpack, Evernote, Pthbrite, Exibi, Dropbox, GoogleSites, and Tackk, in that order on their site.

Creative Curriculum has its own digital assessment system called Gold, and High Scope has its great assessment system, COR in an online version that can be used with a variety of curricula. Anything by NAEYC approved or by Creative Curriculum and High Scope is OK by me!

What a Tool! – Your chosen curriculum usually includes a formal Assessment Tool or you can choose/purchase/create one that matches your program’s list of educational objectives.

Some curricula call for formal-sit-down-and grill testing of their children in order to complete the Assessment Tool, but I prefer a year full of factual observations gained by participating in purposeful play WITH your children; a portfolio of notes, samples of work, photos, and quotes; and careful and continuous communication between co-workers and between teachers and parents all brought together to determine strength and need for children from birth to three, and then a more formal approach for those heading to kindergarten.

Some teachers and parents like an Assessment Tool or Form that is detailed and explicit, showing child progress in every skill, while others may prefer a brief narrative picture. Here are two examples from the Winter Park Curriculum (a personally edited, as yet unpublished system).

Detailed Assessment Form

Narrative Assessment Form

Next Blog: A Bit of Ranting About Assessment and Accountability

 

 

 

Writing It Down – The next step in the assessment process is Documentation.

Documentation means putting in writing the facts that have been observed, beginning to come to some conclusions about those facts, and, in most programs, completing a formal Assessment Tool listing each Strength Expectation and noting the child’s progress in meeting those expectations.

Documentation is important.  It is of great assistance in recalling information discovered or noted during the observations.  It is helpful in organizing the data about the child’s behaviors, skills, strengths, and needs.  It is necessary in demonstrating the extensive work done by a teacher to assure that the mission of the curriculum is being accomplished.  It is imperative when questions and concerns arise if a referral for outside therapy or assistance is suggested.  It is comforting for parents who may need emotional support during conferences – especially if all documentation is shared openly and factually and in a timely manner with them.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly – I like to note small achievements and quote words on post-it notes as I observe during the day and post them on the walls and call the children’s attention to them. (Thomas built a tower with 25 blocks! Melissa crawled today – 1/26/16. Robert said this today – “Mrs. B. I really like your flabbery arms” – they’re not all gemS). I know a teaching team, Mrs. Grimm and Miss Brittany, who can ‘document’ with 

facial expressions, looking at each other with eyebrows raised and nodding their heads toward kids when a skill is gained so that they have both made mental notes and can transcribe this information on paper when things aren’t so busy. That’s teamwork and great assessment.

Types of Documentation that are important in assessing strength and need are:

– A file on each child, kept in a confidential place that includes:

• All necessary registration and health forms
• Notes taken at any meeting or conference with parents concerning special need
• Copies of Incident Reports that support reasons for further observation or referral
• Referral Forms, if referral for professional assistance is necessary
• Copies of any reports made by referral resources

-A portfolio for each child, retained by his teacher* that includes:

• Teacher notes taken during informal observations (paper scraps, post-its, photos, quotes)
• Samples of the child’s work (artwork, dictation, writing, any academic worksheets)
• Copies of the child’s completed Assessment Tool and the Strength Plan created for him

*Shared with his parents during mid-year and end-of-year conferences or at any parent request

Next Blog: Documentation 2 – More Ways to Doc It