1. Sharing What Works in WaKIDS
Winter-Spring 2015
Kathe Taylor, Director of Early Learning Assessment
Gretchen Stahr Breunig, Professional Development Coordinator

2. Districts discover how to implement WaKIDS effectively
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation provided $100,000 of one-time funding for districts to deepen their involvement in WaKIDS by piloting new strategies.
Nine districts were awarded grants.

3. WaKIDS Competitive Grants test ideas from districts of all sizes
In September 2013, the WaKIDS Work Team reviewed applications from 48 districts with over $600,000 in requests.
9 districts received grants.
3 large districts (serving more than 250 kindergartners)-- up to $20,000
3 medium districts (serving 51 to 250 kindergartners)-- up to $10,000
3 small districts (serving up to 50 kindergartners)-- up to $5,000

4. ESDs convene districts to share ideas
In all 9 Educational Service Districts, school and district leaders gather to share what works:
Enhance connections of WaKIDS classrooms, families, and early learning partners
Plan and share results of effective strategies

5. Hopes for our time today
Recognize strategies to implement each component of WaKIDS
Help leaders from districts of all sizes understand what makes WaKIDS work
Inspire YOU to try new approaches with WaKIDS to:
Engage families
Inform instruction
Document student growth and outcomes
Address the opportunity gap
Create a smooth continuum of Prenatal to 3rd grade school-family- community partnerships

6. What Works with Family Engagement?
Home visits for Family Connection
Lopez
Family Nights for kindergarten families
Riverside
Parent survey and
Family Engagement Community Board
Quincy
Parent outreach and
Parent evenings with preschool families
Carbonado
White Pass
Preschoolers visit kindergarten on the school bus
Parent education and resources

7. Let’s take a look at a deeper approach with families of kindergartners
Lopez Island kindergarten teacher, Becca Hamilton, conducted home visits for her Family Connection conferences.
Grant paid for:
Certificated salary of kindergarten teacher to visit families, develop new report card, and create resources
Instructional supplies

8. Riverside built relationships with families of kindergartners
Riverside School District
Hosted family evenings, each planned by the kindergarten teachers using the Pete the Cat books
Provided dinner free of charge for families and teachers to get to know each other
Shared classroom curriculum and provided take-home activity kits, including one of the Pete the Cat books

9. Teachers helped families understand kindergarten
Grant to Riverside School District paid for
Supplies for the take-home kits to support classroom curriculum.
Staff time for kindergarten teachers to plan the four evenings and take-home activities
Reading
Math
Writing
Transition to K/ 1st grade

10. Two rural districts reached out to families with children younger than five
The Carbonado School District
Invited families to use district early learning resources
Built an early learning web page
Welcomed families into the school before their children entered kindergarten
Grant paid for:
Staff time
Substitutes to release kindergarten teacher
Administrative Assistant time to phone families

11. Two rural districts reached out to families with children younger than five
Quincy School District
Conducted a family survey
Established a Parent and Family Community Engagement Board
Provided READY! for Kindergarten for parents of four to five-year-olds
Offered Love & Logic classes
Classes offered free of charge in English and Spanish.

12. Quincy matched WaKIDS grant with other resources
Grant paid for staff coordinator time and funding to host family events
LAP funds paid for READY! for Kindergarten and Love & Logic curriculum and instructors

13. Guiding Questions for Family Engagement
What key activities build on Family Connection and engage families all year?
What can schools do to help families build their kindergartners’ strengths at home?
How can kindergarten teachers and schools deepen their understanding of their families’ needs?
What can schools do to support families with children younger than five?
What can schools do to sustain family connections as students enter first grade?

14. What Works with the Whole Child Assessment?
Alignment and analysis of WaKIDS scores and other assessments
Spokane
Lopez
Quincy
Use of WaKIDS data for high-quality Response to Intervention
Bellingham
Use of WaKIDS data to monitor student growth in an aligned report card
Professional learning circles
White Pass
Coaching kindergarten teachers in observational assessment
Collaboration of rural districts

15. Spokane studied student growth toward end-of-year standards
The Spokane Public Schools
Analyzed the fall checkpoint scores on GOLD™ language and literacy items in correlation with grade level reading scores at the end of kindergarten on the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA)
Shared findings and follow-up research questions with district and early learning leaders

16. Bellingham specialists used WaKIDS data to individualize instruction
Bellingham School District
Coached each group of specialists
Used the WaKIDS GOLD™ data to redesign kindergarten PE curriculum
Individualized their instruction with high-quality Response to Intervention

17. Grant provided time for teams to learn together and individualize instruction
Specialists and kindergarten teachers convened to determine ways to use WaKIDS assessment results :
PE teachers
Music teachers
School psychologists
Resource room teachers (special education)
Occupational and Physical Therapists
Speech and Language therapists and teachers
Specialists working with English Language Learners
Title One teachers

18. WaKIDS teachers in rural districts collaborated in Professional Learning Circle
With only one kindergarten teacher, White Pass needed ideas and support from WaKIDS teachers in neighboring rural districts: Mossyrock, Morton, and Onalaska.
Created Professional Learning Circle (PLC) of WaKIDS teachers and elementary principals, facilitated by the ESD WaKIDS Trainer

19. PLC helped teachers understand what works in WaKIDS
Professional Learning Circle
Shared instructional ideas
Analyzed classroom data
Created WaKIDS Facebook page
Grant paid for:
Substitutes for kindergarten teachers
Facilitator from ESD 113

20. Guiding Questions for Whole Child Assessment
How can districts support teachers to use WaKIDS data to inform instruction?
WaKIDS provides a common language about students’ strengths and areas of challenge. What can districts do to encourage specialists to use WaKIDS data?
What would districts need to consider in order to use GOLD™ reports for family conferences in lieu of report cards?
What kindergarten assessments:
complement the WaKIDS Whole Child Assessment?
duplicate WaKIDS Whole Child Assessment?

21. What Works with Early Learning Collaboration?
Cross-site visits
Carbonado
Lopez
Rochester
White Pass
Reviewing WaKIDS data in team meetings
Spokane
Shared professional development
Quincy

22. WaKIDS teachers built understanding of early learning programs
Carbonado School District team
Visited early learning programs in neighboring communities
Shared successful instructional approaches
Invited early learning teachers to attend “Come and See” kindergarten transition night

23. WaKIDS teachers built understanding of early learning programs
The Quincy School District
Enlisted help from the local Child Care Aware
Created partnerships to support early learning initiatives
Offered READY! for Kindergarten (for children ages 2-5)
Grant provided compensation for a parent/family & community engagement coordinator, kindergarten teachers, and early learning providers to attend READY! for Kindergarten

24. WaKIDS teachers built understanding of early learning programs
Rochester School District
Built relationships between kindergarten teachers and early learning teachers
Learned about child development from birth through kindergarten
Observed instruction in early learning classrooms
Reviewed WaKIDS data
Discussed trends of characteristics of entering kindergartners

25. Guiding Questions about Early Learning Collaboration
How does your district plan for developmentally appropriate learning environments that support growth for all entering kindergartners?
What strategies enable kindergarten teachers to understand more about instructional environments for children younger than five, and vice versa?
What approaches could foster relationships among early learning teachers/ providers and kindergarten teachers in your neighborhoods?
How can schools and early learning programs work together to align educational opportunities in classrooms, community-based organizations, and homes?

26. It’s your turn! What are your thoughts and ideas?
Using these guiding questions, talk about what ideas you have for your school or district.
What ideas would work for your students and families?
What ideas could your district share with other WaKIDS districts?

27. Conclusion
Like WaKIDS students, the WaKIDS system is evolving developmentally.
YOU, your students, your teachers, and your families are partners in this work!

28. Contact Information
Director of Early Learning Assessment,
Kathe Taylor,
Professional Development Coordinator,
Gretchen Stahr Breunig,
Administrative Assistant,
Susan Swanberg,