Early Childhood Supports

For our students to be successful, our work must start as early as possible. If we expect our children to meet challenging and achievable learning goals, we recognize that we can’t do this work alone. Our vision relies on a partnership with actively engaged families and a supportive community. If we start earlier, we will build a foundation that will prepare for future success. So, we have expanded our reach from in during pregnancy to 4 years old.

Design Principles include:

● Support for families/guardians as each child’s first teacher.

o [provide] families/guardians with training in technology and in educational & social-emotional resources.

o connect families/guardians with community partners for resources.

o promote universal access to early learning experiences that are the foundational elements of our Graduate Profile.

● Connecting families/guardians to holistic services and care to be healthy and ready to learn from in utero, during pregnancy, to four. We will partner with community agencies and organizations that will include First 5, Local Childcare Council, Community Action Partnership of Madera County, Probation, Madera Community Hospital, Camarena Health, Madera County Behavioral Health, Madera County Department of Social Services, Madera County Public Health, Madera Coalition, Madera County Superintendent of Schools and other area school districts.

● Provide early childhood learning that starts the process of securing the foundational elements of our Graduate Profile:

• We expect social-emotional skills to include: self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision making, relationship skills, and social awareness.

• We expect academic skills to include: literacy skills, math skills, scientific thinking, social studies, physical development, and the arts.

• We expect to provide an early childhood program that embraces developmentally appropriate practices, cultural equity, play-based learning, standards-aligned curricula, and encourages each child’s natural eagerness to learn.

• We expect teaching practice to be grounded in the research on how children develop and learn and what is known about effective early childhood education.

• We expect teaching practice to use embedded formative assessment as part of an early warning system

• We provide support when students are identified “at risk” in any of the areas of academics, social emotional and/or behavior

● Build a system of collaboration, integrating general and special education, which will provide an environment of continuous learning and support where teachers are able to share strategies and ideas. The goal is to provide a single system of professionalism, learning and opportunities that include the academic and social emotional development of students. We will provide a teacher evaluation process that will acknowledge the strengths of the teacher as well as identify areas needed for mastery, and psychological support to ensure the mental health of the teachers and students we serve.

How do these Design Principles reflect the comparative research?

These Design Principles align with what NCEE sees in top-performing education jurisdictions, where early childhood education is part of a lifelong education system that stretches from early childhood to young adulthood and beyond. Early learning is structured around a curriculum that aligns with the primary school curriculum, while still being developmentally appropriate and emphasizing learning through play. Teachers screen young learners for developmental needs to ensure that they receive appropriate supports from a young age. This enables teachers to determine whether young learners are ready to enter K-12 and makes the transition as smooth as possible.

Preschool for children as young as three may be optional, but it is accessible to all. Slots are available for every parent who wants them, and participation is free or highly subsidized so that all parents can afford it. Ensuring availability for all means that most systems rely on a mix of public and private preschools. But the private sector is subject to the same stringent standards for quality of the learning environment, safety, pedagogy, and teacher preparation as are public providers.

These systems ensure early childhood teachers have comparable professional standards to their TK-12 peers. They are prepared for their work in programs that emphasize effective pedagogy within the framework of a developmentally appropriate core curriculum. And they have the same kind of opportunities for ongoing learning, professional collaboration, and leadership available to primary and secondary school teachers. This means equitable pay, benefits, working environments with shared office spaces and time to plan, opportunities for career progression that recognize teaching expertise and the willingness to mentor colleagues, and ongoing learning opportunities to enable early childhood teachers to get better at their work.

Also, in high-performing systems, schools coordinate access to the health, mental health, social services and supports students need to be successful. Often, schools are staffed with some teachers who serve as behavioral health specialists, student learning needs coordinators, and coordinators with community support services in addition to their regular teaching duties. Teachers are prepared to serve in these roles and given the time, support, and ongoing professional learning to do them well. Schools also employ dedicated medical professionals in every school, or ensure that schools have strong partnerships with a nearby medical facility and social services agency in the community.

Additionally, teachers in high-performing systems recognize that while they cannot do everything for all children, they can ensure that every child is referred to specialists who can meet their needs appropriately. They develop the expertise to identify when students are facing challenges, through their preparation and induction programs and collaborative professional learning. They recognize behavioral and mental health issues, and signs of trauma and stress and refer students who need support to the appropriate professional, all while exercising empathy and discretion. No less important, they also have opportunities to be reflective about their own biases and are encouraged to employ culturally responsive pedagogy and treat all students with dignity and respect.