January, 2015
Dear School Administrators and Teachers:
We are pleased to present five briefs that provide research-based practical guidance to support effective early childhood practices that help young learners gain the foundational skills necessary to reach the Common Core Learning Standards. New York State Association for the Education of Young Children and the New York State Head Start Collaboration Office teamed up to highlight key features of high quality early childhood teaching for children from Prekindergarten through 3rd grade: the period of time when children acquire knowledge, skills, and attitudes towards learning that will impact their long-term success in school and beyond. The guidance briefs aim to support administrators and teachers in making decisions that will lead to higher quality early childhood classrooms with positive outcomes for children. These briefs include material from interviews with school principals and teachers and have been vetted by the field. They will be mailed to every district and community based organization providing prekindergarten. We encourage you to share them with the school board, Parent Teacher Organizations and others.
With the statewide expansion of Prekindergarten, the need for more continuity in teaching practices and the current emphasis on vertical alignment of the grades make these publications timely. The first five briefs cover the following topics for Prekindergarten through 3rd grade classrooms: Leadership, Environment, Curriculum, Interactions and Instruction and the appropriate use of Assessment.
Our next brief will focus on the importance of Family Engagement in the early grades. If you have feedback on these briefs, ideas for further topics, or would like to order more copies, please email Patty Persell at patricia.persell@ccf.ny.gov with your address, the brief name and the number of copies you would like. The briefs are also available for download on the NYS ECAC website www.nysecac.org.
Sincerely,
Robert G. Frawley, Co-Chair Sherry Cleary, Co-Chair
NYS Council on Children and Families New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute
52 Washington Street, Suite 99 West
Rensselaer, NY 12144
518.473.3652
www.nysecac.org
Each of the five briefs is linked below.