It All Starts in Kindergarten . . .

One Principal, One Literacy Specialist

Both Kindergarten Teachers

Kim- my principal, my colleague, my friend . .

     Kim and I decided to write this blog about our journey together, and with our staff, towards innovative, high-impact literacy strategies for our students. We have both been in education for over 30 years each and have both taught kindergarten. It is wonderful to have a principal who is also a literacy leader.

     I think we can probably all agree that in the most recent past, the emphasis in schools, as prescribed by many government programs and initiatives, has been on moving the lowest performing students. Assessments, progress monitoring, data driven instruction, etc. has had teachers and administrators alike, scrambling to make catch-up growth, reach benchmarks and raise the bar . . . these are words that anyone working in education can recite in their sleep. I'm not saying this work can't, shouldn't or doesn't need to be done, because of course it does. However, in the mad scramble to do so, we may have forgotten those that excel . . .those that need to be challenged, those that are ahead of the game, for whatever reasons. I think, at times, that these kiddos get overlooked and it is certainly to everyone's disadvantage to do so. 

     Kim and I are committed to looking at ways to find these students as soon as possible - i.e. before they enter kindergarten, and with accurate data, make sure they receive the appropriate instruction, in order to meet their needs.

     I imagine no one could argue with what I have written, but the first questions that come to any educator's mind, because they occurred to me as well, are:

1. What data will help me identify these students that have already mastered many concepts of print and are ready to begin to read?

2. What assessments will be used, who will administer them and when will they be given?

3. What happens next, once the students have been identified?

     Stay tuned to our next post to find out what we used (downloadable resources) and how it went!