Diapers to Diplomas Preschool Study Group April 10, 2014

The Trigg County Board of Education has established a Preschool Study Group to examine our current programming and outreach efforts consider current research related to preschool programs develop recommendations for the Board of Education on how to expand preschool opportunities for the children in our county

School Readiness in Kentucky School readiness means that each child enters school ready to engage in and benefit from early learning experiences that best promote the child’s success and ability to be Ready to Grow, Ready to Learn & Ready to Succeed. Five Areas: Approaches to learning Social and emotional development Health and physical well being Cognitive and general knowledge Language and communication development

A New Business Model Children Enter Kindergarten Ready High Quality Early Learning Environments Supportive Families Access to Data for Community Planning Participation in STARS A great early childhood workforce Families understand child health and developmental needs Common Kindergarten Entry Screener Scholarships & PD Plans Families are engaged Children have access to appropriate services Data is shared by early childhood programs CDIP Goal for School Readiness

K Screening Results %Ready with Enrichments 18%Ready 77% Ready with Support %Ready with Enrichments 44%Ready 52%Ready with Support

Increasing School Readiness It’s a COMMUNITY issue Where are our children? Improving School Readiness is a COMMUNITY issue. Prior Setting Number TestedNot ReadyReady (1) Ready with Enrichments (2) Kindergarten Ready (1+2) All Students State Funded Head Start Child Care Home Other % were served in the home 63.3% did not receive KERA/HeadStart/Licensed Childcare

Current Programming Kentucky's preschool education programs are available for all four-year-old children whose family income is no more than 150% of poverty; all three and four-year-old children with developmental delays and disabilities, regardless of income; and other four-year- old children as placements are available based on district decision. TCPS has a blended program with Head Start 4 classrooms on site 2 IECE Certified Teachers Schedule 9:00 – 1:00 Monday - Thursday 80 Students Approximately ½ Receive Special Education Services

Outreach Efforts Increase Outreach Efforts of awareness of preschool program Current Efforts Collaboration with Trigg County Early Childhood Council Ready, Set, Kindergarten Cadiz Rotary Club Math Boxes as part of Ready, Set, Kindergarten Trigg County Public Schools Education Foundation Imagination Library Toyota BornLearning Academy Future Wildcats

Screening Adjust preschool calendar to provide time for screenings Use last week of school as time for staff to screen potential students Use first week of school for screening potential students Provide additional screening dates

Programming Classrooms of Excellence – use this process as guidance for and encourage/support/submit applications in for IECE certified teachers. ECER-S Ratings – Consider having staff person qualified to conduct ECER-S Ratings and use them annually as part of program evaluation. CLASS Assessment – have at least one administrator certified to conduct CLASS Evaluations – use on annual basis. Preschool Program Review (P2R) – review results of P2R and use process for improvement and monitoring. NAYCE Certification – maintain certification and use monitoring annually

Staffing IECE Certification for Lead Teachers – staff without this certification could have 1 year to initiate a program and 7 years to complete IECE certification. Yearly progress towards completion would be necessary. CDA or Associate’s in Early Childhood for Instructional Assistants – staff without the certification currently could have 18 months to complete. Any new staff hired after July 1, 2014 would be required to have CDA or an Associate’s degree in Early Childhood or related field.

Changes to Preschool Sessions Additional Classroom Using current schedule – 1 session per day 4 days per week This would expand available slots from 80 to 100 Double Sessions using current staff Offering double sessions daily 4 days per week in order to provide additional slots for students. Depending upon the schedule, this could increase our available slots from 80 to 140 Sessions would be from 8:45 – 12:30 and 12:30 – 4:15

Further consideration Preschool Screening/Registration beginning soon Financial Implications Additional classroom – teacher and aide – Salary $55,000 Double sessions – staff hours and transportation – Salary $58,500 Transportation Additional students either way may required additional routes Fuel and normal usage would increase if double sessions are used but it may not “double” the number of routes needed (Divide county for sessions) Tuition or not? Those students who do not qualify based upon income or disability