School’s Cool in Kindergarten for the Kindergarten Teacher School’s Cool Makes a Difference!

Why School’s Cool in Kindergarten? The School’s Cool program addresses vulnerabilities (e.g. inability to separate from parent, self-regulate) that are closely tied to poor school performance. Offering School’s Cool in kindergarten: gives teachers the opportunity to close the skill gap, before implementing the kindergarten curriculum helps ensure that more children, including the most “at risk” have improved chances of school success provides teachers with a detailed baseline of school readiness skills for all children upon school entry helps teachers gain insights into the strengths and needs of all children that can be used to inform their teaching

The Purpose School’s Cool is a short term, play-based curriculum designed to increase the school readiness of 3-5 year olds, especially those who may be “at risk” of academic challenges. The School’s Cool program is intended to: assist children in acquiring the self-regulation skills they need to navigate and succeed in the kindergarten classroom establish a sound skill base in the 5 domain areas – language, math/cognitive, psychological, social and self-help to facilitate learning in kindergarten close the skill gap between children who are ready to transition to kindergarten and those who are not

The Curriculum The School’s Cool curriculum is play-based and links activities with observable learning outcomes. The curriculum: reflects widely accepted best practices in the field of early child development and related teaching approaches is outcome-focused, increasing specific skills and abilities (e.g. listens to examples of safety practices) encompasses over 100 learning activities that address the 5 domains is delivered by the team in circle, outdoor play, and in teacher- directed, child-directed and transition times

School’s Cool Outcomes Pre and post testing of over 3,000 children has shown that, on average, children attending School’s Cool experience up to a one year increase in school readiness skills. The School’s Cool program provides children with play-based learning opportunities to: become familiar with classroom routines and expectations practise the skill of self-regulating in a group – listening, taking turns, following instructions engage in making choices that impact their learning and behavior be better prepared for the transition to kindergarten

Implementation The School’s Cool program is flexible and can easily fit into any kindergarten classroom, whether it be full day, every other day or half day. The School’s Cool program in kindergarten most often: begins at the start of the school year consists of 24 sessions, within a 3-5 hour daily timeframe runs for approximately weeks is delivered 3-4 days per week can be interspersed with kindergarten expectations throughout the day (e.g. shared writing or reading)

School’s Cool Philosophy School’s Cool focuses on reframing challenges, finding solutions that teach the skills of effective problem solving and moving situations to a positive resolution. The School’s Cool philosophy: builds on strengths that encourage a positive sense of self in the children, their families and the instructors looks for the positives in each situation and collaborates on solutions that are win-win creates an atmosphere of constructive communication where children, parents and colleagues practice a solution- focused approach

Assessment and Evaluation School’s Cool provides teachers with the Developmental Checklist®, a measurement tool to collect data on individual skill development and determine next steps in planning. The Developmental Checklist is used to: guide skill observation of children measures child progress, daily and over time, in specific skills inform further planning and teaching for individual children and small and large groups share successes and challenges with parents and provide suggestions for next steps at home

Pre and Post Evaluation Teachers complete a pre and post Developmental Checklist for each child. By comparing the pre and post checklists, teachers will see the overall change in children’s progress in the 5 domains over the course of the program. Pre and post checklists: are completed in the first 4 and last 4 sessions of the program allow teachers to assess individual children, create small groups for common needs and gain a broad perspective of the whole group provide teachers with a clear picture of each child’s strengths and needs at the end of the 24 sessions

Parent Involvement School’s Cool understands the importance of parent involvement in the child’s development and education. School’s Cool encourages parents to help make those first connections with the school community and to communicate regularly with teachers and other school staff. School’s Cool promotes parent involvement by: helping parents understand the important role they play in their children’s development planning and delivering 2 parent information sessions creating weekly newsletters that keep parents informed keeping daily student logs that identify key successes or challenges communicating regularly in person or by phone

Training School’s Cool Master Trainers provide 3 days of certified instructor training, teaching how to plan, deliver and evaluate an effective outcome-based program. Training is also available online at School’s Cool training addresses: planning, set up and delivery of the program the solution-focused approach to problem solving outcome-based learning observational coding using a developmental continuum engaging parents the benefits of working as a team

The Team Approach School’s Cool supports the idea that knowledgeable educators working as a team can improve the school readiness skills of children, preparing them for kindergarten and grade 1. School’s Cool recommends that sites have a minimum of 2 staff trained in order to achieve optimal success. The delivery of the School’s Cool program is based on trained certified instructors consistently working and encouraging each other as a team in the following areas: planning and delivery of the program debriefing of observations, thoughts and ideas learning and growing as instructors of young children communicating both program and personal successes and challenges

The School’s Cool Kit The School’s Cool kit plus training and evaluation is a comprehensive package that encompasses all of the tools needed to deliver the program to children and their families. The School’s Cool kit includes: an evidence-based school readiness curriculum for children 3-5 years a Developmental Checklist for observing and tracking skills Cool Bear and clothing templates for communicating with parents set up and delivery strategies including planning, timing, materials, assessment and evaluation and more

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