State Prekindergarten Standards, Children with and without Disabilities: We’re ALL on the Same Page 2005 OSEP Early Childhood Conference December 2005 Mary Louise Jones, Ed.D., Section Supervisor Susan Crowther, Program Coordinator Louisiana Department of Education Division of Student Standards and Assessments

PURPOSE To Provide Participants with: An understanding of how Louisiana developed standards for ALL four-year olds An overview of how the standards promote academic achievement An overview of how students with disabilities are included

ECSE Programs Annual Performance Report/State Performance Plan (APR/SPP) submitted Dec 2, 2005: By % ECSE SWD will be served in separate classes 75% ECSE SWD will be served in 80%/day (or more) in classes with typically developing children

The Standards Are: For ALL Children

Two Kinds of Standards Program Standards Content Standards

Program Standards Provide recommendations to guide development, evaluation and improvement of early childhood center-based programs

Program Standards Provide and maintain safe, welcoming, age- appropriate and cultural and ability sensitive learning environments

Program Standards Not all program standards are regulations or requirements. It is recommended that programs strive to meet or exceed these to ensure the quality of the programs.

Program Standards Address: Physical Environment Transportation Group Size Health/Safety Nutrition Family Involvement Staff Qualifications and Staff Development Interactions Curriculum Assessment Collaboration

Content Standards Cognitive (Math, Science, Social Studies) Creative Arts Health/Physical Language and Literacy Social/Emotional

Content Standards Are: Based on an appropriate understanding of child development

Content Standards Are: A guide or framework to design and implement curriculum

Content Standards Are: A focus related to the ongoing development of the individual child

Content Standards Are: Designed for all areas of development to be integrated throughout the curriculum

Content Standards Are: The foundation for the development of “Grade Level Expectations” as prescribed by the No Child Left Behind Act

Content Standards Are: Developed with the expectation that children with disabilities have the supports and services in place to be successful in settings with typically developing peers

Content Standards Are Not: A curriculum

Content Standards Are Not: A unit of study or lesson plans

Content Standards Are Not: An Assessment Tool

Content Standards Are Not: Designed to be “taught” as segmented individual areas of development

How to Use the Content Standards

CONTENT STANDARDS SAMPLE PAGE COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT Content Practice StandardsDevelopmental Profile IndicatorsLinks Preschool programs will provide experiences for children to: Educational experiences will assure that preschool children will: LA K-4 State Standards, LLP, ECERS-R, Head Start, NAEYC, etc.) Mathematical Development Number Concepts Understand numbers, ways of representing numbers, and relationships between numbers and numerals PK-CM-N1* Compare number of objects Examples: Compare objects in groups, such as: shoes which tie and do not tie Compare number of boys to girls Compare unifix towers to each other K-4 State Standards: N-1-E; N-9-E NAEYC Criterion: B-5d; B-8, B-7c… ECERS-R Items: 26(5.1), 26(5.4)… Head Start Performance Standards: (a)(4)(iv) Domains describe the aspect of development for each standard. Skill Areas define each Content Area more specifically. A Content Practice Standard describes the broad outcomes that children should achieve through a high quality preschool experience. Examples are tips on how to structure the curriculum and environment to assist a child’s optimal performance. Each Content Practice Standard is aligned with the Louisiana K-4 Content Standards and other relevant state and national standards. The Developmental Profile Indicators specifies what most preschool children should be able to know and be able to do by the end of their preschool experiences. Content Areas are specified for each Domain. Indicators define a Content Practice Standard more specifically so that it can be measured. Each indicator is coded by Domain, Content Area, and Skill. For example, PK-CM-N1 means Pre-Kindergarten – Cognitive Math - Number 1.

Remember: All standards are based on research and developmentally appropriate practices and are for ALL children

For Copies: Go to “Curriculum” Link, then Go to “Early Childhood” Link Click on EC Links