If you missed the July 26th Lunch ‘n’ Learn: Defining and Measuring School Readiness, below are the video and materials shared, plus a short overview.
- Watch the full Lunch ‘n’ Learn
- TQEE Kindergarten Readiness Presentation
- BSTN LNL 2024 07 26 slide deck
- Preparing Children and Their Families for Kindergarten July 2024.pptx
The Challenge
Research is clear that lower levels of kindergarten readiness are associated with poorer academic outcomes from elementary to high school. Children entering kindergarten in Tennessee have had a wide range of early childhood experiences, and many are already behind their peers in key domains of child development. That said, we don’t have consistent or statewide data on which children are behind, how far behind they are, or what early learning experiences they have had prior to kindergarten, because there is no common school readiness definition or assessment in Tennessee.
Kindergarten readiness involves not only key knowledge and skills that are part of a child’s readiness for school but also the readiness of schools, educators, caregivers and communities to provide optimal learning environments that support children’s diverse and evolving learning and development needs.
Bright Start TN leaders in Northeast TN and Hamilton County shared how their communities have defined and are assessing kindergarten readiness so teachers and parents can work together to best support children as they grow.
The Solution in Northeast Tennessee
Presenters: Beth Huber: Northeast TN Bright Start Fellow and STRONG Accountable Care Community Collective Impact Specialist; Nancy Dishner: President & CEO, Niswonger Foundation; Mia Hyde: Director, Comprehensive Educational Resources, Niswonger Foundation
Seventeen schools districts in Northeast came together over a period of two years, and ultimately aligned on a shared definition of school readiness and assessment tool. The working group was led by Bright Start Northeast TN partners Niswonger Foundation and Ballad Health’s STRONG Acountable Care Community. The initiative, a key stratregy of the Bright Start NETN early care and education, has officially now shifted from planning to action. As of the writing of this blog, ~6,000 incoming kindergarten students in 17 NETN school districts are being screened with the Brigance tool to help teachers and parents support their childrens’ growth and development over the 2024-2025 school year. Check out our blog post about it here.
The Solution in Hamilton Co
Presenter: Jennifer Andrews, Director of Early Childhood Development, Chattanooga 2.0, and head of the Early Matters Action Team
The Early Matters Action team realized that there was confusion about kindergarten readiness in their community. They took action and gathered input and feedback from educators, pediatricians, and Kindergarten teachers. In April of 2023 they took all the data and incorporated it into HCS’ Ready, Set, Kindergarten booklet. The booklet was shared with families and educators across their community.
“These are a list of skills parents can go through to see what can I be working on at home with my child.”-Jennifer Andrews
The nationally recognized Bracken K entrance assessment was administered to the 2024-2025 kindergarteners and the results will guide any changes that need to be made to the booklet. The data from the test will reveal the success of the new campaign. They are continuing to work with educators and develop collaborate partnerships, including a very exciting partnership with PBS!
